Carry On
by LiveLaughGlee
Summary: 1 year. 12 months. 52 weeks. 365 days. Not much can happen in the course of a year but for Marley and Ryder, it seemed to have changed everything. The only thing it didn't change? Their problems. Can Marley and Ryder learn to trust each other again long enough to help each other through the most trying times in their lives? Sequel to "Lean on Me".
1. Chapter 1

Taking a deep breath, Ryder walked through the parking lot, pressing the button on his keys so the car would lock. He wasn't supposed to be here. He had told his mom he'd be at the school practicing with coach but that had never been true. He'd never get a football scholarship so the extra practice seemed almost worthless. Besides, he needed to focus on grades. That's what Will said.

He pushed through the doors and waited for someone to wave a metal detector over his being, making Ryder shiver at the thought of what he was walking into. All his life he'd been sheltered from the world; the world of bad people. If there was some sort of crime being reported on the news, his mother made sure his ears were covered and his eyes were shut. She didn't want Ryder's innocence to leave him. She wanted him to believe in good.

Ironic how the man she chose, singlehandedly made Ryder realize the evil in the world.

"Keys, pens, any coins." A man ordered as he shoved a tiny box into Ryder's hands. Licking his lips, Ryder quietly put everything that was in his pockets into the box and handed it back to the man. The guy standing in front of him looked mean and he scared Ryder but it was too late to walk out now. He needed to man up, be the man he knew his dad would be proud of. The man his dad had always wanted him to be. "Through that door."

Ryder nodded his head and pulled open a heavy white door that lacked a window. It was cold in the room he had just entered and a few other people were standing around waiting. To Ryder, they looked like they belonged behind the bars this place had but somehow they appeared to be as innocent as he was.

Another guard walked into the room from another door. He screamed for everyone to listen to him. No giving the prisoners anything. No taking anything from them. No conspiring. It was all common sense to Ryder but he wondered if any of that had happened before. It had to, right? Why else would the guards feel the need to remind them it was against the rules? Suddenly Ryder didn't feel very safe.

Still, he walked through the other set of doors when the guards told him he could and he was surprised to be in a pretty well decorated room- or at least a well decorated room for prison. He had pictured there'd be mud and bugs at every corner but the room was pretty clean. At least they clean up after themselves.

He stopped looking around when he saw him sitting at a table by himself. Once again, Ryder had to convince himself to walk forward, to be friendly. But when he sat down he realized that it didn't matter how friendly _Ryder _was, his dad was going to be as unpleasant as he was the last time Ryder had seen him. He tried to remember what Marley had told him not too long ago: _He's still your dad. He loved you before and he still loves you now. _Somehow, Ryder highly doubted that.

"Hi dad." Ryder tried to sound happy, or at least look like he was trying hard to _be_ happy. But there was nothing to be happy about and Mr. Lynn responded with an eye roll. "How's life been treating you?"

Mr. Lynn mumbled something incoherently and Ryder could only assume it was an insult of some kind. That's really the only relationship they'd had for a few years now, which thinking back to the trial a few months ago, didn't really seem all that surprising. A dad who loved his son and never insulted him would have a much harder time blaming his son for a murder than Mr. Lynn did.

"Beth misses you." Ryder offered after a few seconds had passed. He looked around at the other people in the room. They seemed to be happy seeing their loved ones again. How come Mr. Lynn didn't look the least bit relieved? How come Ryder wasn't fighting back a smile because he got to see his dad again? What the hell happened to them? "She comes home for school and cries sometimes because you're not there."

"Does she blame you?" Bradley asked bitterly, not exactly pleased with Ryder's choice of conversation. He didn't want to think about the family he'd never see again.

Ryder shook his head and mumbled a quick "No" before staring off again at the other people in the room. "Mom was pretty mad at me at first but she's come around, I think. It only took a few months."

Bradley rolled his eyes. His wife had never been one to hold a grudge which is probably why she didn't seem to care when Bradley told her the truth about the accident. She was mad at first but a week later, she came around and seemed to understand all the reasons Bradley had to do what he did.

"I started football again." Ryder mentioned when he was once again met with silence. "Coach Beiste let me on the team."

"You can't play for shit." Bradley responded as he chuckled dryly.

Ryder looked down at the table. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised when his dad said that. First of all, it was a pretty accurate statement. Second of all, as previously mentioned, insults were pretty much all his dad ever said to Ryder. But still, he couldn't say it didn't hurt.

Ryder coughed and shook his head. "You know, I'm trying here. You screwed up and I have every right to be pissed off at you. I have every right to ignore you for the shit you tried to pull, but I _know_ nobody else came to see you so I thought I'd give you someone to talk to. You don't want to talk to me? Fine. I don't really care. Just let me know so I don't waste my time coming here."

Bradley raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. He always found amusement when his son got annoyed. "Well look who's got a backbone." He teased as he allowed himself to chuckle once more. "You're a shitty son and an even shittier person. You think I honestly give a fuck if you come talk to me about how perfect _your_ life is? Do you really think anybody would _want_ to be stuck in a room with you? Because I can't think of one fucking person who would put themselves through that voluntarily."

Ryder stood up and shook his head disapprovingly. "Fuck you, dad."

**X X X **

"Marley!" A voice sounded throughout the house and Marley rolled her eyes as she grabbed her keys from the bedside table. He had been screaming at her for about five minutes now even though she had told him she'd be ready soon. "Get your ass downstairs!"

Rolling her eyes again, she skipped out of her room and followed his voice downstairs and into the kitchen. "I'm ready."

"When I said I'd drive you in today, I meant _today_." He mumbled as he stood up from his chair and grabbed his car keys. Marley could only roll her eyes once more as she shook her head. With a smile on her face, she watched him cross the kitchen and kiss his fiancé before walking out the door, sending a glare Marley's way. "Let's go."

As she slid into the passenger's seat, she looked over and smiled at him. "You love me. Don't lie to yourself."

"I hate you." He muttered as he pulled out of the driveway. "You sicken me and I just want to slap you with a fish sometimes."

Marley raised her eyebrows and let out a brief chuckle before shaking her head and turning to look out the window. "You don't like fish, Mark."

Marley watched as the car pulled up in front of a big building with what seemed like a thousand windows. She imagined that they advertised it by saying that they were windows to the future. Rolling her eyes at the thought, she turned back towards her brother as he muttered, "Get out and good luck!"

She rolled her eyes and reached down to pull her bag up onto her lap. With one last glance at him, she got out of the car and started her walk towards the front doors. Kids were hanging all around the lawn; some were smoking even though she was sure that was against the rules. She vowed to stay away from those kids. There was a big group of girls in short cheerleading outfits drooling over a group of boys who were passing a football back and forth. Although Marley knew that in another life she'd have been all over that, she continued to walk into the school. She'd been hurt too many times already to be worried about boys right now.

As she entered the school, she was overcome with an entirely new group of students that were either hanging around their lockers or walking through the halls with friends. How many kids went to this school and how the hell did they all fit? Biting her lip as she tried to navigate through the wave of people, she forced her feet to move forward towards the sign that said 'Office' in all capital letters. The second she opened the door to the separate room, the bell rang and Marley was relieved that she didn't have to battle her way through the mass of people outside.

Carefully and as respectfully as she could, she walked up to the man sitting at a desk in the corner. He had glasses on and looked pretty harmless but she knew better than to trust anyone. She learned that from an early age and even though she was getting better, those memories were still at the back of her mind, threatening to escape from the lock she kept them under.

"Hi. I'm Marley Rose." She breathed out as she placed her backpack on the floor. Not much was in it, but it was still bothering her shoulders. After telling her brother to get just a bag from Hollister or somewhere so the straps didn't hurt her shoulders, he came home with a JanSport, dark blue bag with a clearance tag on it. "I'm uh… I'm new here."

"Welcome to McKinley, Miss Rose." The man welcomed as he stood up and motioned for her to follow him. "There is some paperwork for your parent to fill out-."

"Brother." Marley corrected as she took the packet of papers from it. It wasn't very thick but she was still surprised how much Mark would have to look over. The last thing she wanted was to take any more of his time away from him. She'd been doing enough of that already. "I live with my brother."

"Right. Well then paperwork for your brother." The man said kindly as he grabbed another stack of papers. "Here's your schedule and some flyers for some school events so you can make new friends and everything."

Marley looked at the different color papers in her hand and fought the urge to roll her eyes. She already knew what she wanted to do with her life and it didn't matter if she had friends now or if she went to all of the hockey games. She was content by herself. "Oh, well thank you."

"You're really going to enjoy McKinley." He mentioned as he picked up his phone and dialed a few numbers. She heard him request someone to come down to show her around. That was the last thing she wanted. As she looked down at her schedule, she noticed she had history with a girl named Mrs. Holliday. Quite honestly she'd rather be there than getting a tour of the school.

"I'm sure I will." She whispered as a girl with brown hair entered the room. The man introduced Marley and then walked back to his desk.

"Marley…" The girl repeated him as her smile grew. "That's such an interesting name. I'm Santana and you have the amazing pleasure of getting a tour of the school from me."

Marley nodded her head and tried her hardest to keep from looking intimidated. The girl seemed nice enough but there was something about her that made Marley want to run and hide under a rock. They made their way through some hallways before they stopped in the stairwell. Marley shivered slightly as she thought of the girl jumping her and taking everything she had. Fortunately, Marley didn't have much.

"I could take you to your class…" The girl started and Marley felt her smile grow. Finally she'd be able to end this awkward encounter and sit in class like everyone else. "…or we could go out to the turf and we could watch the football practice."

Marley felt her stomach flip as she thought of the many ways this situation could end terribly, but she smiled anyway. "Sounds fun."

"That's what I like to hear." Santana exclaimed before she took a turn and walked to the end of the stairwell, pushing through a door that led to the outside. Marley had to squint her eyes as the harsh sunlight began to blind her. "The cheerleaders are practicing now too."

Marley wasn't quite sure why her brunette tour guide brought up the cheerleaders but she didn't question it. Instead, she followed Santana until they were seated on a set of bleachers a few yards away from the field. Marley wondered what type of trouble she'd get into if they were caught. She assumed Santana could just say this was part of the tour but would anyone really believe that?

Santana chuckled and Marley turned to see what she was looking at. Some guy had just caught the ball and now all the guys were screaming and huddling around slapping each other's helmets and swinging their arms like wild animals. "What are they doing?"

Santana laughed again. "They're being idiots." She concluded as they both continued to watch the guys jump around. They had way too much energy. "It's normally worse when the captain is here."

"Captain?" Marley wondered out loud, surprising herself with her interest. She imagined that normal girls talk about boys all the time, but she had just never been a normal girl. Her abnormality was decided for her and unfortunately she never really had much control over it.

"You've probably heard of him. Everyone in the state pretty much knows about what happened last year." Santana noted, only tugging at Marley's curiosity. When she noticed Marley's intense stare, she continued. "You know, the Lynn family scandal. Do you even _watch_ the news?"

Marley's stomach dropped as she heard his last name. People knew about that? She thought that since he was under 18, they would have kept his name a secret. But maybe since it was a small town everyone talked about it like it was celebrity gossip. Wait, no. That's not possible. The last time Marley talked to Ryder she could have sworn he said something about attending Dalton Academy. Clearly, there had just been another scandal.

"You mean Ryder?" Marley asked disbelievingly. Santana scrunched her eyebrows and nodded her head. And for the first time Marley reacted in a way she never thought she would. She scrunched her eyebrows and put her hand to her head in aggravation. "Well, _fuck." _

"You know him?" Santana asked but Marley's thoughts were already gone. Seeming to catch on to that, Santana looked away and started to watch the Cheerio's practice.

Marley was doomed. The universe was against her. That had to be it. The universe had a deep dark plot to ruin the little bit of her life she had left. _Well consider it ruined_, she thought, _you win._

**X X X **

**Yay! I'm back! So like the description says, this story takes place a year after Ryder left the rehab center. All of the characters will make a few appearances but it might take a while to build their stories and have them actually show up. I promise characters like Sam, Jake, Kitty, and even Tina will be in this story at least twice each. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and I'm sorry it took so long. I know this was supposed to be up in June (at least I think that's what I said). Anyway, this story will be updated on Tuesdays for now and maybe it'll turn into twice a week later. **

**Leave a review and like always, I'll respond. (I miss talking to you all!) **

**Love you!**


	2. Chapter 2

"You told me he went to Dalton." Marley pointed out, pursing her lips after the words left her mouth. Her eyes were narrowed in his direction and he seemed frightened or at least intimidated. She would have felt a little proud had it not been for the current situation she had gotten herself into; or rather, _he_ had gotten her into. "You said that if I'd never see him because he went to _Dalton." _

He took a sip of his coffee before nodded his head. The warm liquid calmed him down slightly even though he knew it'd do little to help the girl find peace of mind. "That's true. That's what I said…"

She rolled her eyes and scoffed with a shake of her head. "Then _why_ did I just find out he is captain of _McKinley's _football team?"

Blaine chuckled uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head, his cheeks suddenly turning a light shade of red. "It's really a funny story, actually."

"I'm not laughing." She muttered, narrowing her eyes farther. "_What happened?" _

"He _did_ go to Dalton. He was actually doing really well at Dalton but then Bieste talked to him and I don't know; he wanted to go to McKinley." Blaine explained offering her several smiles along the way. "He wasn't going to go but he always loved football so I told him to- well I told him to try."

Marley couldn't help but smile a little as she processed Blaine's words. "_You _of all people convinced Ryder that he should finally do what _he_ wants?" When Blaine nodded his head, she sighed and rested her head on the table. "You should've told me."

"I know, I know." Blaine sighed and took another sip of his coffee as he reached out and grabbed one of her hands. "But you need to be here near Mr. Schue and I wasn't about to let Ryder's stupidity keep you from that."

Marley sighed and sat up, reaching to grab some money from her purse. Her brother was doing pretty well for himself but she did felt the need to get her own job so she decided to work at the pet store that was a few blocks from her house for some extra money. She stood up as she threw a five dollar bill on the table.

"I have to go do my homework before I have to go to work." She mumbled, running a hand through her hair. She smiled down at him as she grabbed her book bag from the floor and threw it on her back. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?"

Blaine nodded. "Don't forget we have plans to see _Man of Steel_ tomorrow!"

Given the fact that it was Friday tomorrow she and Blaine had decided a few weeks ago that the first weekend she was in town, they'd go out and see a movie. They'd known each other for a little over a year now and they had yet to watch a movie in an actual theatre. She nodded her head and walked out the doors into the sunlight.

**X X X **

Ryder walked through the doors of his house, holding it open so Katie could walk in after him. He wasn't entirely sure when it happened, but they had somehow found a way to act like they had before everything had happened. She distracted him and he was grateful for it.

"Where'd you go?" Beth asked as she ran up to hug Ryder. He easily picked her up and positioned her on his hip, kissing the top of her head sweetly. He smiled when she giggled.

"Hi Beth." Katie greeted as she pinched the girl's cheeks. Although Beth liked Katie, she scrunched her face and pulled away, unappreciative of the gesture. "How was your day?"

"Mr. Schuester is here." Grinning, she leaned towards the ground, forcing Ryder to put her down. Ryder's face paled and he turned to give Katie an apologetic smile.

"I uh… I can't hang out anymore."

He regretted it because almost instantly her smile changed into a frown and she groaned. "You've been saying that for _weeks, _now."

"I-I know. I honestly didn't know he was coming today." Ryder answered truthfully. The deal was that if Ryder didn't have to go back to the rehab center, then Mr. Schue would come to his house every Monday and Friday night and on Sunday afternoons. Given the fact that it was a Thursday left Ryder confused and also interested in what could possibly be going on. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow. I promise."

Sighing, Katie leaned forward and kissed the boy's cheek before opening the front door and exiting the house. Ryder reached up and wiped his cheek, trying to make sure there was no lipstick mark left behind. With one last sigh, Ryder walked from the foyer into the kitchen where Mr. Schuester was sitting at the table talking to his mom. Upon Ryder's entrance, they both looked up and his mom lifted her eyebrow.

"Where'd Katie go?" She wondered aloud and Ryder licked his lips as he fought for an excuse.

"She uh… she had to go do her homework." He answered, deciding it was the safest answer. Of course she'd have homework to do. Everyone did. Will gave him a look before shaking his head slightly.

"If she loved you, she wouldn't care if you went to rehab." Will reminded him as he looked down at the papers that were lying in front of him.

Ryder was personally insulted by Will's assumption. Not only did he just assume Ryder was lying, but he assumed that Ryder and Katie were anything but friends. Sure, sometimes they made out in the back seat of his car and sometimes they snuck up to her room when her parents were out, but the rest of their encounters had been completely platonic. What kind of guy did Mr. Schue think Ryder was? He had just gotten out of a relationship, hadn't he?

But still, Mr. Schuester wasn't wrong to assume that Ryder hadn't told Katie everything about where he had been a year ago. In fact, he lied about the whole thing. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her." He finally admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Why are you here anyway? It's not Friday."

Beth giggled from her spot at the table. "Thank you captain obvious."

"Where does she learn that from?" Ryder questioned, slightly annoyed by the entire situation. "She needs new friends."

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Mr. Schue muttered, "I heard you went to the prison today."

Ryder's heart started to race as he looked back and forth between Mr. Schue and his mom. He left this morning promising he'd talk to his history teacher for her and somehow had ended up at the prison. Excuses piled through his mind and he sifted through them trying to find the best one. Sadly, all of them seemed to suck.

He coughed and scratched the back of his head. "Oh uh, yeah. You see, I got lost and by the time I realized I was lost… I was about five minutes from the prison so I thought I'd stop by to ask for directions."

Ellen nodded her head slowly before turning to Mr. Schue with a sarcastic smile on her face. "Did you hear that? He stopped to ask for directions to the school he's gone to since he was in diapers."

Ryder sighed and chose to sit down in one of the chairs, resting his head on his hand. "How long am I grounded for?"

Ellen laughed and walked towards the counter where a big bowl was sitting. "We'll discuss that later."

As she walked out of the room, Ryder turned towards Mr. Schuester with a little frown on his face. "I thought you weren't going to see your dad?" Mr. Schue asked as Ryder sighed.

"I know but I'm the reason he's there."

"No." Will interrupted abruptly, making Ryder sigh once more. "He's the reason he's there." Will looked at Ryder sadly as the boy hung his head as if in shame. "Ryder, the relationship with your dad has always been toxic. We've talked about this. It's healthier to just let your dad go."

Ryder looked up from the table with his eyebrows scrunched. "Yeah? And what about forgiveness? Doesn't everyone deserve that?"

"Of course they do. But you have to stop _searching_ for the apology that will likely never come." As Will stood up, he gave Ryder a quick pat on the back. "There's a saying: 'Forgive and forget'. You need to leave behind the forgiveness and just work on the forgetting. Alright?"

Ryder sighed as he heard the kitchen door shut before he jumped up and ran out towards the foyer where Will was currently saying goodbye to his mom and sister. "Hey Mr. Schue? Can we forget about the session tomorrow? It's just that I promised Katie that I'd…"

"Consider it forgotten." Will smiled before shutting the door behind him.

**X X X **

"We have a new student joining us today." Mrs. Holliday droned on causing Ryder to rest his head on his desk. A lot of students loved Mrs. Holliday and although he understood why, he couldn't say that she was one of his favorites. In fact, she was probably his least. No matter how early it was, how rainy, or how miserable Ryder was, she always sounded like it was the new best day of her life. He supposed it might have been, but still he didn't like the way she always shoved it down everyone's throats. "Well come on. Introduce yourself."

Ryder allowed his eyes to shut, trying his best to ignore the person standing in the front of the room. It wasn't that he was an asshole; he was just absolutely exhausted after staying up until 2 last night talking to Katie on the phone. Every time he tried to hang up, she'd find a new subject to talk about. "Oh, uh. Hi. My name is Marley Rose and I.."

She trailed off when she saw Ryder's head popping up from the desk. She had noticed the guy sitting there and just assumed it was some rude pothead. She didn't know it was _him._ She swallowed harshly and coughed as she noticed everyone else was staring at her as well. "And I moved here from New York."

"That's so sweet." A girl she never saw before mentioned but it's not like she was paying attention to her anyway. Her eyes were glued to Ryder who looked star-struck by her sudden appearance. Self-consciously, she ran a hand over her clothes and turned towards Mrs. Holliday.

"Well, welcome to the best history class you'll ever be a part of." After earning a smile from Marley and a few groans from some of the students, she pointed towards the back of the room. "You can sit in between Katie and Unique."

"Thank you." Marley whispered, not being able to find her voice. As she passed Ryder she was instantly confronted with his smell, something she'd had a hard time trying to forget. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was go home, lay in her bed, and cry.

But that would just have to wait.

**X X X **

**Yay! Ryder and Marley have met again and apparently they broke up? Whaaaaaat? How'd that happen? Oh my gosh! Oh and did you like what I did there? Making Marley sit in between Katie and Unique? Haha. I'm just awesome. I know. **

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews and the story follows and the favorites. You know they make my day. I've missed doing this so much so here we go…. **

**Thanks to:**

**TeaAndGlee: **I absolutely LOOOOOVEEEE your username! :D I can't wait for the rest of it either! :) Thanks so much for reviewing and I hope you keep reviewing so we can talk :) THANK YOU

**Guest1: **It means a lot that you would wait for me to write this. That's totally awesome and your review made me smile loads. :) Thanks for reviewing and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. THANK YOU

**Iluvwillschuester: **omg I love you and I hope that you keep your laptop for a while. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. It means so much to me. :D Oh and I've read your messages on tumblr but I can't respond on my phone. Every time I go to respond my tumblr closes. Just thought I'd let you know. THANKS AGAIN! LOVE YOU LOADS!

**MiggieMoo2014: **YAY! Thanks so much for reviewing! :) It means so much to me that you're still interested in my Ryder and Marley. That's so awesome. I'm excited for this story too :)THANKS FOR REVIEWING. YOU'RE AWESOME!

**CamrynLynn19: **I got really, really excited when I saw you reviewed! Thanks so much! You're amazing. I hope you keep reviewing because you're awesome. THANKS AGAIN!

**ChuckNutz: **LEXIIIIII! hi. I love that you were my first reviewer because I love you so much! Haha you make me laugh! Your reviews are always so amazing and I just love you. I realize I've already said that but it's true. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING AND MESSAGING ME ON TUMBLR! Your messages always made me want to write this story so thank you for that! :)

**Next update on Tuesday! Thanks to everyone else who favorite and followed! Please review so I can talk to y'all! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

Ryder rubbed his hands on his pants before grabbing the football from the ground and tossing it to Mike, who he had met this year in tryouts. Earlier, after Mrs. Holliday had finished impersonating Abraham Lincoln, or at least Ryder thought that's who she was dressed as, Ryder fled the classroom without looking back. He wasn't sure why but seeing Marley made him feel nothing but guilt, which he knew was one of his many problems that Mr. Schuester was trying to fix.

But Ryder deserved to feel guilty. He deserved to feel like shit because what he did to her was terrible. What he did to her was inexcusable.

Mike cursed and threw his head back when Ryder dropped the ball once again. It'd be easy to blame it on sweaty hands but Ryder was wearing gloves with grips so he could easily catch the ball. Ryder, too, rolled his head back in frustration and threw himself to the ground. "I don't know what the fuck is the matter with me, man."

"The first round of play offs is next week. Get your head in the game and out of your ass." Mike spat before walking away to find someone else to throw the ball with. That was a surprising outburst but it wasn't enough to get Ryder to his feet. Why did Ryder deserve this success when he ruined so many people's lives? That hardly seemed fair.

But still, if he bailed now, he'd ruin his team's chances of success in the playoff and it was the first time in a while that McKinley had a shot of going to States. With a huff, he sat up and looked at everyone warming up. Maybe he could just go for a run during today's practice but he knew Coach would hate that idea, seeing as they had plays to go over.

"Lynn!" She bellowed, stomping over to him with a certain passion in her eyes that he hated to see. She was clearly pissed off and he was the reason. Quickly, he stood and dusted the back of his pants off. "Why the hell are you sitting on my field?!"

"I uh… I'm having an off day." He admitted as he took off his helmet and put it under his arm. With it off, he hung his head back and let his skin absorb the little sun there was.

Coach's face softened and she patted his shoulder pad. "Will told me what you did yesterday and if you ever need to talk about it, you know where my office is." Ryder looked down from the sky and smiled at her before she smacked him in the back of his head. "Now put your helmet back on and get back to work. My field is not Dr. Phil's couch."

Ryder licked his lips and chuckled as he shoved his head back into his helmet. With a kick in his step, he jogged over to where the majority of his team was standing. "Alright, guys! Bring it in!"

**X X X **

Marley walked quickly into the heat with Unique by her side. Turns out that they had a lot of classes together and Marley was thankful for the company in the halls. She put her hair into a ponytail and followed her gym teacher to the track, where they'd be expected to run a mile. Marley was sure she'd end up getting a lousy time and embarrass herself but it wasn't like her gym teacher cared that much, if at all.

"So what brings you to Lima anyway?" Unique asked as she pulled some of her hair into a ponytail. It was too short to get the back hair though. "Unique would've stayed in New York if she were you."

After a few minutes of conversation, Marley realized that Unique often referred to herself in third person for no other reason than to hear her name being said. Licking her lips while she stretched her arms, Marley answered, "My brother found a job out here and I knew some people who live around Lima so I decided I'd just live with him."

It wasn't entirely false so she didn't have to feel bad about lying. Besides, she'd just met Unique and to tell her entire life story to the girl didn't seem very appropriate. Unique seemed to buy the excuse and Marley was thankful when she appeared to get distracted by something happening behind her. Marley turned to see a bunch of guys huddled around; each of them wearing a jersey with different numbers on it. The one that stood out was the number 19 and Marley had to take a deep breath so she wouldn't cry.

Now, she wanted nothing more than to take off running and never stop. He made her _crazy_ and she absolutely hated it.

"Alright, the clock starts now." Her teacher said and Marley took off running, loving the feeling of her hair blowing in the wind.

It didn't take long for one of the football players to call her way. At first she was flattered, honored that they'd noticed her until she realized they were screaming at her to watch out. Before she knew it, a boy collided with her and they both ended up on the ground.

"Ow, God!" Marley screeched as she sat up and dusted her hands off. Luckily, it was some random kid she'd never seen before. He was pretty hot, though. "Do you always mindlessly go where the football is thrown?"

The boy seemed taken aback by her bluntness and opened his mouth to respond before he was quickly pushed out of the way by another boy who looked just as guilty as the last time she saw him. "Shit, Marls. I'm so sorry. Mike, what the fuck is your problem? Don't you _look?" _

Marley gasped, slightly annoyed that the boy thought he was still the one that was allowed to come to her rescue. She stood up, refusing to take his hand and instead pushed it away. "You lost the chance to help me up when you stopped calling me." She muttered before turning to walk, or rather limp, back to where her teacher was standing with a disappointed look on her face.

Upon her return to the bleachers, her gym teacher, who she believed was named Miss King, walked up to her and took a seat next to her. Marley didn't look up, instead choosing to focus on her knee which was now bleeding. "Have you ever thought about joining track?"

Marley snorted before she realized the woman had been serious. "As in like running? You do realize I am now bleeding, right?"

"You're really fast." She continued seemingly unfazed by Marley's disbelief. "So you fell. It doesn't mean you can't get up and try again."

Marley watched as the woman stood up and walked across the field to yell at a girl who had decided to walk the entire mile. As she bit her lip, Marley questioned what there was to do next. Her leg was bleeding and her heart was currently broken, but was that reason enough to sulk around?

She didn't think so, but then again, she didn't entirely know _what_ to think.

Her head was telling her that the boy standing a few yards away from her was a mistake. He hurt her. He left and hardly ever called her until one week he didn't call at all. Since then, they hadn't talked. He was wrong for her. He never was right. She just thought he was because that was how he acted. But that's all he was doing: acting. He didn't love her like he said he did. He didn't want her. He didn't need her. He played her and that's all he would do again if she gave him the chance.

But then there was her heart. Her heart wanted him and it knew that if she gave him the chance he could love her too. He never stopped loving her; he just didn't know how to show it from so far away. Text messages weren't enough for him. Phone calls weren't enough. He loved her too much to amount their relationship to that. That's why he stopped calling.

She supposed both her heart and her head were naïve in their own ways.

Luckily, someone caught her attention and distracted her from the turmoil in her head. "C'mon, I'll take you to the nurse."

She looked up and saw Ryder standing there with a small smile on his face. Like her, he had noticed her giving him glances every now and then. "What part of 'you lost your chance' don't you understand?"

"All of it." He mumbled honestly. "You can explain it to me on the way to the nurse, though."

She shook her head and stood up. "No, I think I'll just find my own way. Thanks though."

Ryder frowned and let out a breath as he watched her walk off into the building. He knew he fucked up; it'd been on his conscious since the night he decided he wouldn't call her but he never thought he'd have to deal with it again. He knew she would move to New York with her brother once she got out of rehab. She had only mentioned it a million times. He just never counted on those plans changing.

Throwing his head back, he cursed into the wind, earning a few glares from the teachers and students that were around.

As he contemplated whether or not to follow her considering she had gone in the completely wrong direction, a girl walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. She had heard the entire conversation and quite frankly didn't like the fact that Ryder seemed so interested in getting the other girl's attention. When he didn't acknowledge her presence, she unwrapped her hands and stood in front of him with her arms crossed. Slowly, he focused his attention on her.

"Who is _she?_" Katie asked, puffing her chest out slightly to try to intimidate him. Ryder sighed and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. "She looks like she just walked out of a homeless shelter."

Ryder narrowed his eyes before shaking his head. "Leave her alone, Katie."

She chuckled dryly as she shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just saying. She's probably dirty, in both the physical and sexual sense of the word." Katie looked sadly in the direction Marley had just walked with her arms on her hips. With a sigh she turned back to Ryder. "She's got fleas, Ry. You shouldn't bite."

With a swift turn around, she whipped her hair into his face and walked off, her behind swaying back and forth in a desperate act of seduction. Ryder turned away and jogged back over to the football field to grab his water and clothes. As much as he wanted to stay out here and think, he really needed a shower before he had to go to chemistry. His lab partner already had a problem with him and he wasn't in the mood to hear her complain about his stench.

**X X X **

**It's not Tuesday but here I am, updating anyway. I just found out that one of you (or maybe more) nominated me for the Glee Fanfic awards on Tumblr! That's so awesome and I love you so much. So I'm nominated for "Best Marley Fic" – Lean on Me, "Best Marley Writer", "Best Ryder Fic" – Falling Apart and Lean on Me, and "Best Ryder Writer". You have no idea how amazing it feels to even be nominated, let alone to be nominated for that many categories! You've made my life. You don't even know how much I'm smiling right now! **

**Anyway, I appreciate the nominations but I'd love to win. Haha. So to vote, go to .com and send them a message voting for me (or someone else) in the categories you want to. I think the awards are a great way to find new fanfics to read too. I'm pretty sure you don't have to have a tumblr to do it, either. So please if you could/want vote for me and I'll love you forever! **

**Back to the story… so they've spoken and now it turns out Marley is sticking to the idea that Ryder is bad. We'll just see how far she gets with that. ;) **

**Thanks to:: **

**Peninc: **Oh my gosh! Thanks so much! That is so nice! I can't believe you read Lean on Me just to read this. That's so awesome and I love you forever! :) I'm really glad you liked it and I'm glad you're liking this as well. That means so much to me. I sometimes reread my 'thanks to' sections just so I can sort of relive the Glee moments that I had to fangirl over. Haha. I'm just a loser like that I guess. Jennoist is definitely the cutest couple ever and I love them with all my heart too! :) Well, thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope you keep doing it because you're pretty awesome from what I can tell.

**ChibiLova18: **Haha sorry for the suspense. I think I just created more though? So sorry again. :) Thanks so much for reviewing! Reviews always make me smile! I hope you keep reviewing so I can keep talking to you. :)

**LittleMusicalOwl: **Aw thanks so much! That means a lot! :) I hope they get together too. Haha. Thanks for reviewing and reading!

**TeaAndGlee: **Haha, you'll find out what happened between them….. eventually. I hint at it enough so you'll be able to guess soon ;) Thanks for reviewing! It makes ME happy! :) You're so sweet and I'm so happy you like this fanfic!

** .35: **Thank you so much for saying that! That's awesome. :) I'm glad you liked Lean on Me and I'm so happy you're liking this story as well. :) Thanks again for being so nice!

**ChuckNutz: **Sorry! Next time I publish, I'll be sure to do it around your sleeping schedule lol. :) You pace?! That's honestly so nice to hear! (which is totally weird, I know) I could never be stuck with you! I LOVE talking to you! You're so awesome and I absolutely LOVE your reviews and I just love you. You honestly make me smile all the time! Thanks again!

**Iluvwillschuester: **GOOD! I'm so glad to hear that you're getting better at your ladder. From what I've written so far, Katie is the worst person ever and I hate her. :P There's a hint. ;) I hated Vince at first but I loved him by the end. I just like Landry and Matt. I also LOVE Luke and Becky omg. I hate the next few episodes coming up for you because they just frustrate me so much! And I hate Mr. McCoy with a passion. :P Thanks for reviewing and thanks for being so nice! It's awesome how nice you are. THANKS AND I LOVE YOU TOO!

**Guest 1: **You'll find that out soon enough… I think. Haha ;) Thanks so very much for reviewing. I love you for reading. :) THANKS AGAIN BECAUSE YOU'RE AWESOME!

**CamrynLynn19: **Trust me, there'll be LOTS more drama that will kill your feels. Hehe. ;) I feel so evil, you have no idea. I hate Katie too with a passion. She's the worst, only gets worse though, I'm afraid. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I really love reading them. They make me smile for hours. Haha. :) THANKS SO MUCH!

**I feel so evil responding to you guys now because I have all this information and you don't and I can just tease you and idk why but it makes me so happy. Haha. Sorry for that run-on sentence but you know. I'm just excited, or maybe just evil. Thanks so very much for reviewing and reading! It honestly means so much to me. AND JENNOIST IS AMAZING TOO! Sorry. Just thought I'd throw that out there. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading. Please review and vote for me! It'd mean the world to me! **

.com


	4. Chapter 4

**gleefanficawards2013 dot tumblr dot com**

**Just found out fanfic edited it out. Sorry. Just - you know - put actual .'s in the place of dot... but you knew that so yeah.**

**In case this doesn't show up again, there's a link in my bio**

**X X X **

Ryder bit his lip and hit the green dial button on his phone. It had been a while-almost 15 months to be exact- since he had called this number and he knew when the other person answered, he'd be in for an extremely long lecture. But he needed advise and as much as he hated to admit it, the best person for the job was Kitty. They had a shaky relationship _before _Ryder had acted like a shit head. She'd probably have him killed now.

"Hello?" She answered and Ryder shut his eye as he mentally prepared himself for the tremendous amount of insults that would most likely pursue. However, he was met with silence. "Hello? Who's this?"

Ryder sighed. "You're just doing this to get under my skin aren't you?"

He could hear Kitty groan followed by a slamming door. "Listen here, _Lynn. _I have no interest in _getting under your skin._ You're a horrible person and quite honestly, you aren't worth my time which is why I deleted your number."

"Kitty, I really need your help." He stated, his voice higher than he had planned for it to be. He didn't want to sound weak, not when talking to Kitty. "I really, really fucked up."

She chuckled sarcastically and he shut his eyes again. "You think? You _broke_ her, Ryder. Do you know how long she cried? How about how long she waited by the phone for you to call? Did you even care?"

"I know, ok. I know I'm a jackass but I want to make it better." He pleaded while sitting down on his bed. Kitty was a handful and the conversation had already made him exhausted.

"Then answer me this." She ordered and he could imagine her crossing her arms, much like Katie had done earlier. Katie. They decided he would take her out to Breadstix tonight to make up for yesterday. He cursed lowly under his breath as he waited for Kitty to continue. "If she didn't happen to go to your school, would you still want to make it better or do you just want what you know you can't have anymore?"

Ryder groaned when he heard Kitty hang up as he threw himself backwards and hid his face in his hands. With one swift movement, Ryder's phone collided with the wall and shattered into 4 or 5 pieces. He wished he had a game tonight but since they had won the majority of their games, they earned a bye. He supposed he was lucky considering at this exact moment he was exhausted.

Katie flashed into his memory and he turned to look at the clock. It was still only 6:00 and they had planned to meet at 7. He had plenty of time to get ready and drive the 4 blocks to the famous restaurant so he rolled over and shut his eyes. He'd rest for a moment.

**X X X **

Marley laughed as she took a bite of the alfredo noodles she had ordered. Blaine snorted as Unique looked between the two like they were crazy. Blaine was showing them both pictures of Sam, Jake, Marley, and everyone else from the rehab. They took them one day when Ryder stopped by to visit. Marley didn't know it then, but that was the last visit he'd ever make and the last time he'd ever talk to her. Well, until earlier this morning.

A picture of Ryder kissing Marley's cheek flashed up on the screen and Blaine coughed awkwardly, trying his best to slide through the pictures quickly. But unfortunately, there were about ten pictures of Marley and Ryder in a row laughing, kissing, and making silly faces with each other. Unique gasped and Marley sighed, her smile fading quicker than it had appeared.

"You _knew_ Ryder Lynn?" Unique gasped, taking Blaine's phone and trying to focus on the pictures of the two love birds. Blaine was making that surprisingly difficult as he kept trying to grab the phone from her.

"I really meant to delete those Marls, I promise." Although she shouldn't have, she became even more upset when Blaine used Ryder's infamous nickname for her.

As Unique scrolled through the pictures, she gasped again. "You _dated _Ryder Lynn." She corrected herself, before turning to give Marley a look. "How'd you _meet_ him?"

Marley opened her mouth to try her best to explain their situation before Blaine cut her off. "Marley spent a week or two in Africa and that's where they met."

"Well you two made one hell of an adorable couple." As truthful as her comment was, Marley couldn't focus on it because she was still trying to comprehend why Blaine had lied in the first place. Even though she could understand why Blaine had encouraged Ryder to follow his dreams, she couldn't fathom his angle this time. Blaine hated lying. Blaine was better than that. He had said that one too many times since Marley had met him and she had always admired him for that.

A girl approached their table with her arms crossed. "Hi. I'm Katie. You're Marley, right?"

Marley nodded her head. She had seen the girl before but couldn't exactly think of where. Maybe she was in one of her classes. With a smile, she stuck out her hand for the girl to shake. Grimacing, the other girl shook her head.

"I think we need to establish some ground rules." Marley scrunched her eyebrows and sighed, trying her best to remember a time when she might have pissed this girl off. "I don't know what you're motives are, but stay away from Ryder."

"You don't have to worry about that." Marley admitted honestly, shaking her head with a quick dry chuckle. Although the other girl's outburst didn't exactly seem justified, nor did she have the right to treat Ryder as if he were property, Marley didn't exactly have a reason to argue with her.

"I think I do." Katie continued, with a condescending stare. Marley saw Blaine put his head down in the corner of her eye. "Because as you might have noticed, my boyfriend isn't here right now and Ryder doesn't forget dates; not with me anyway."

Boyfriend? Marley gulped as she tried to think back to the beginning of the conversation. Katie. Katie as in ex-girlfriend Katie? Marley shook her head. She'd have to get used to referring to herself as _ex_-girlfriend. Katie was obviously now current girlfriend and Marley was left to rot in the past.

Marley coughed slightly and licked her lips, offering the girl a tight smile. "I have no interest in Ryder."

Maybe that was a lie but as the saying goes: fake it 'til you make it.

Turning towards Blaine, she smiled politely. "I'm going to go now; I just remembered I have to help my brother with… this thing." With a quick glance towards Unique, she got up from the table and excused herself, walking really quickly towards the exit.

Call her naïve and maybe even a little selfish but it was a lot easier to regard Ryder as an ex when he wasn't currently in a relationship. It was simpler to be mad at the guy when she knew he was still pining after her forgiveness. Now that he was in a relationship, she just wanted to watch sad Lifetime movies and fall asleep with an empty tub of ice-cream in her arms.

On her way out, she ran into a very disheveled looking boy and fell to the ground with a quiet thud. "Shit I'm so- Marley?"

Marley looked up and cursed the heavens for making her run into the only boy in Lima she had no interest in seeing. With a sigh, she stood up, refusing his offers to help her. "Your girlfriend is in there looking for you."

"My girl- you mean Katie?" Ryder scrunched his eyebrows and shook his head. "She's not my girlfriend. We're just…" Licking his lips, he ran a hand through his head and tried to find the right word. Quite honestly, he wasn't entirely sure what was going on between the two. "… Well, we're just, you know, going out."

"Sounds an awful lot like dating to me and evidently her too."

"What do you mean?"

Marley sighed and crossed her arms slightly. "She just walked up to my table and told me to stay away from you. That's what I mean."

"She- she did _what?_" Ryder asked but by the time the words left his mouth, Marley was already walking in the direction he assumed her house was in. Quickly, he sighed and decided not to let her walk away this time. "Marley! Marley wait!"

"What?" She snapped turning around and he was shocked by her attitude. In fact, everything about her surprised him. She was a completely different person. Her confidence was at an all-time high, it appeared and he loved it. What he hated was the fact he missed seeing her get there.

"Let me give you a ride home." He offered, motioning his head towards a shiny black car that screamed 'I'm rich'. Marley gave him a once over before sighing.

"What part of your girlfriend is looking for you don't you understand?" She asked with a tiny smirk on her face. She may not be ready to forgive him or give him another chance but the fact that he was willing to put her above that Katie girl made her heart melt slightly.

"What part of she isn't my girlfriend don't _you _understand?" He countered, reaching out and trying to grab her hand. She refused, though, as she walked in front of him and climbed into the front seat. He sighed but followed after her. Progress was progress.

But another girl was watching the whole scene and all she could think about was revenge.

**X X X **

**Because of what happened on Saturday, I will not be responding to you guys. It just doesn't seem right to act as if I'm super excited when in reality I can't even smile. Cory was truly an amazing guy and he should be remembered as that, not whatever the news is going to report about how he was addicted to drugs. I've read several articles that only mention that. They only mention how his drug problem led to his death; that he wasted his life and threw everything he had away to get high for a few moments. **

**That's not true. Cory was a lot more than his addiction. He was involved in several organizations. He talked openly with fans about his struggle with addiction so that maybe he could talk them out of trying drugs. Addiction just doesn't go away. It's an everyday battle. You can't just stop no matter how hard you want to. To focus on what Cory **_**could have done**_** or **_**may have done**_** isn't fair when he HAS done so much already. I've talked to several fans who say they saved him, who say he changed their lives. **

_**That**_** should be the legacy he leaves behind. **_**That**_** should be what we remember him for. Not his drug addiction. His spirit, his kindness, his humor. That's what we should remember because that's what we're going to miss. **

**So I'm sorry for not responding like I normally do and I hope you can understand why. And I'm especially sorry to all of the Cory fans out there, not just Glee fans, but fans that watched Glee just to see scenes with Cory in it. You lost your idol and your inspiration and I'm so sorry. **

**However, I will say a quick thank you to **_Bri Deene (_I missed you), _Peninc , ChuckNutz_, _Reflections of Twilight (_I missed you), _CamrynLynn19_, _ .35, teaandglee_, _Guest 1, ChibLova18. _**Thank you so very much. **


	5. Chapter 5

Even though her head had been screaming at her for the past hour, she had invited him into her house and now they were sitting in the kitchen eating ice cream and sharing stories like they had when they were getting to know each other. He was currently laughing at something she said about an encounter she had with Sam and she was trying her hardest not to choke on her ice cream.

Once the laughing ceased, Ryder looked down at his ice cream and frowned. "I went to see him yesterday."

Marley scrunched her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side. "Who?"

"My dad. I went to the prison." He looked up and instantly regretted because Marley was sporting a look of pity that made Ryder wish he never brought it up in the first place. But still, he couldn't help but continue. "He's still the jackass he was before."

"Why'd you do it?" Marley wondered, leaning forward, her tone laced with pure interest. Ryder missed the feeling of importance he always got when she listened to him.

He shrugged and put his tin of ice cream onto the counter. "I have no idea."

"Was it a pleasant experience?" He knew she knew the answer. And she knew that he knew that. But her point had to be made. Seeing Bradley Lynn, aka Satan re-spawned, was a bad idea. In fact, it was a terrible, horrible idea. Ryder shook his head slowly. "Then don't do it again."

"How can I not?!" Ryder asked standing up from his chair and shooting her an annoyed glance. "I ruined his life and nobody else visits! Doesn't he deserve someone? A second chance?"

Marley stood up and moved so she was directly in front of him. Looking up, she whispered, "No. He doesn't. Because he tried to ruin _your_ life and I don't know if you noticed but your life is pretty important to a lot of people."

It felt natural so she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. The scent she had gone to bed dreaming of filled her nose and she shut her eyes in pure pleasure. Within seconds, his arms were holding her and the protected feeling she always got when she was near him followed soon after. With a small sigh, she allowed herself to go back to a time in her life when this embrace was accepted, when she could always count on it.

"I miss you, Marls." He whispered, interrupting her brief moment of bliss. Those four words cut through her like a knife and she pulled away from him with her eyes blurry as tears clouded her vision. "What did I-?"

"I can't do this." Marley whispered, stepping farther back than before. "You need to leave."

"But Marley, I was just-"

"No. You have a girlfriend." She justified, turning so she could put their bowls of ice cream into the sink.

He chuckled and she turned to see him shaking his head. "She not my girlfriend. I told you that."

"You left me, Ryder! You left and never called again. You didn't even text! But you know what really got me; what really made me cry?" She asked, tears falling from her eyes and covering her cheeks. Ryder's heart dropped as he stepped towards her and it broke when she took a step away. "You called and texted everyone but _me! _You didn't even have the decency or courage to let me know we were done!"

Ryder sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know I'm a dick, ok? I know I screwed up but I'm _trying_ to make it up to you."

"Stop trying." Marley mumbled as she shook her head. "Because nothing you say or do will make up for the pain you put me through. I need you to leave. Can you please lock the door on the way out?"

Ryder watched as she left the room and he punched the air a few times in aggravation before collapsing to the floor. She had a right to be pissed and he accepted that. But right then, she wasn't pissed. She was tired. She was sick of him and the situation. He couldn't blame her. He would be too if the roles had been reversed. But that didn't make him any less upset.

"Who the hell are you?" Someone asked and Ryder jumped up, dusting his clothes off. The guy standing in front of him looked to be in his early twenties. Clearly, the guy was Marley's brother so Ryder smiled and held his hand out.

"I'm Ryder." His smile faded when the guy refused to even acknowledge Ryder's hand.

"I believe my sister told you to leave." His voice was firm and held no room for reconsideration. Marley always said he was protective. "Whatever you did to her, you better hope she's alright because I will kick your ass if you hurt her."

Ryder nodded his head and walked towards the front door. He did as he was told and locked it on the way out. With a sigh, he nodded his head and wrapped his arms around himself as the cold, Ohio air engulfed him. He shouldn't have been surprised that he left his jacket in the house.

"Me too." He whispered as he walked to his car. "Me too."

As Ryder drove away, Marley watched from her window seat wishing that things had been different. Maybe if they had just been given more time in rehab, they wouldn't be aching like they were now. Maybe if they had just remained friends instead of testing the waters of romance, they wouldn't be longing for each other like they were. Maybe if they never even met each other at all, they wouldn't be wondering why they weren't written in the stars like they thought they were; why they weren't destined to be together like the imagined they were.

A knock on the door silenced her thoughts and she forced herself to look away from Ryder's taillights long enough to notice her brother walking into the room. "Hey. You ok?"

"I guess so." She mumbled truthfully, shrugging as she shut her curtains and moved to sit on her bed instead. He took the seat next to her and nudged her playfully.

"Is that the guy you cried about for weeks?"

Marley bit her lip and nodded her head slowly, trying to fight the tears she knew would be there when she tried to fall asleep tonight. "He's not a bad guy and I didn't cry for _weeks_."

"Why was he in there?" Mark asked after nodding his head for about a minute. As far as he was concerned, anyone who hurt his sister was a _bad guy._ But maybe that was just his opinion because nobody else seemed to see it that way; not even his sister.

"His dad crashed their car and ended up killing someone. He blamed Ryder." After a long pause and a few sighs, Marley continued, slightly unnerved by her brother's refusal to give the boy the benefit of the doubt. "To make matters worse, Ryder blamed himself too."

Mark nodded his head and offered his sister a small smile as he nudged her once more. "I bet I can beat you at MarioKart… _again." _

Marley giggled and stood up, racing to the bedroom door so she could get the good controller before her brother did. "The only reason you won is because I let you."

"You're going to regret all this trash talk when I kick your ass again." He replied smoothly.

**X X X **

Monday came faster than anybody wanted or expected it to. Ryder walked through the halls like a zombie, trying his best to avoid anyone that may want to engage him in a conversation. He didn't want to be talked to and he certainly didn't want to be the one to speak. After having slept for a total of five hours all weekend, all Ryder wanted to do was get today over with and leave. The only reason he came in at all was so he didn't miss football practice and risk pissing Bieste off again.

After gathering his books for history class, he dragged himself to class and threw himself into his chair. This morning when he had forced himself to get up, he was surprised at how awake he felt. But at this moment, he was wondering why the hell he had gotten up in the first place. "Ryder, you're late."

He looked up and scrunched his eyebrows before turning towards the clock. Was he that tired that he couldn't even hear the bell ring? Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry."

"You're going to have to go to the office and get a late slip." Mrs. Halloday informed as she pointed towards the door. Ryder's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically.

"But if coach finds out then I'm going to have to sit out at Friday's game." He explained, as he stood up. He was fully ready to get down on his knees and beg even though he knew she'd never fall for it. Marley watched in shock as the strongest guy she knew stood in front of the class looking like he was about to cry. He honestly looked like a mess and she wondered if it had been her fault. "I've never been late before!"

Marley pushed the thought from her head as Mrs. Halloday spoke. "I'm sorry Ryder but it is school policy."

Ryder shook his head, much to Marley's and everyone else in the room's surprise. He may have been in the popular crowd and he may have been rich, but nobody in the school knew Ryder to argue with his superiors. Even though Ryder didn't necessarily talk to everyone, he would talk to anyone who talked to him and the school generally thought of Ryder as respectful. Even Mrs. Halloday was blown away.

"No, see there's a scout at the game on Friday. I can't miss it." He pleaded, but Mrs. Halloday held her ground and pointed towards the door. With one last sigh, Ryder walked out into the hallway, everyone in the classroom silent as the watched him go.

Marley took even herself by surprise and raised her hand. "May I go to the bathroom?"

Without waiting for an answer, Marley bolted out of her seat and into the hallway. She saw him turn a corner and without a second thought, she sprinted after him calling his name. She couldn't hear anything over the sound of her shoes clicking on the floor except for her heart beat.

Upon hearing her voice, Ryder stopped and turned, waiting for her to turn the corner. She was confusing the hell out of him. First she hates him; then she invites him into her house and they hang out; then she hates him again; and now she's chasing after him. Had it been any other girl, Ryder would've given up by now and just left her alone. But Marley wasn't just another girl. There was something about her that made Ryder yearn for her.

"Ryder." She breathed out as soon as she saw him standing there. He put his arms out, waiting for her to tell him what she wanted. He didn't want to be relieved that she was talking to him before he knew for a fact she wasn't going to freak out at him again. He couldn't handle having his hopes crushed like they had been on Friday night. "How are you?"

He couldn't do anything besides raise his eyebrows in shock. Was that seriously all she wanted to ask? After everything they'd been through, he would have thought she'd know the answer to that question already. Maybe he was just holding on to something that just wasn't there anymore. "Pretty shitty, Marls. You?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She knew he had been expecting more than that but she wasn't sure what she was ready to give him. But letting him go was unbearable and she knew she'd hate herself if she had let him walk away again. "You said there's a scout going to the game on Friday?"

"For Ohio State." Ryder confirmed as he put his hands in his pocket. "Not that it matters anymore since I won't be able to play in it."

"What if you talk to Coach?" She suggested and Ryder nodded his head. He had already been thinking of excuses to use. Before Marley had called him, he was pretty sure he was going to play the 'my dad is in prison and it's my fault' pity card.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "What are you-? I mean what are we doing here Marley?"

She wasn't sure what to say because in all honesty she had no idea. Ryder had been upset when he left the room and something in Marley made her get up. She wanted to protect him; to keep him from hurting at all costs, even if it meant a detention for herself. The boy, although he left her, still held a special place in her heart and she wasn't ready to put that behind her. Not yet.

"I want to be friends." Marley finally spat out, her voice somewhat shaky even though she hated sounding anything but confident, especially when talking to Ryder. "I hate what you did to me. I hate it a lot, but we were friends before and I know we can be friends now. I miss you, Ryder."

Ryder bit the inside of his cheek, trying to find a way to put her down lightly. Sure, on Friday he had said that he missed her but he didn't mean that in a platonic way. He missed the way her lips felt against his. He missed how perfectly their hands fit together. He missed how he felt when he could tell people that she was his. And although he did miss just hanging out and talking to her, he wasn't sure he could handle letting all of the other stuff go.

"I have to go talk to Figgins." He mumbled before turning around to continue his journey to the principal's office. If he didn't feel like shit before he left the classroom, he sure did now. The insides of his stomach felt weak, like he had to throw up, but he hadn't eaten breakfast this morning and was pretty sure he had a normal temperature. Biting his lip, he turned back around and saw her standing there looking down at her feet. He did that. He made her feel like shit too. Was it just because he felt that since he was feeling like crap she had to too?

"Hey Marley?" He called as he gripped onto the door separating him from his punishment. She looked up, almost hopefully and he almost smiled at how adorable she looked before he remembered he couldn't have those thoughts anymore. "I'll talk to you later, ok?"

**X X X **

**Poor Ryder. Tough. He deserves it… or does he? I guess you'll get that story later. :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter even though I didn't get a chance to respond to you. Well, I did have a chance but it felt weird taking it, ya know? **

**Anyways…. Thanks to:: **

**Iluvwillschuester: **Hmmmm maybe a slight Ryley progress here too? :) I like Unique so far which I guess is a good thing. I hate her in the actual show though. Whoops. Oh well. :) Thanks for your amazing reviews on both chapter 3 and 4. You're so totally awesome and we totally have to talk more! I'm just really bad at responding to messages lol. My friends hate me cuz it takes hours to respond to their texts. Anyhow, thanks again! :)

**PandaChubz31: **Haha. Well I'm glad you've heard about it now. :) Thanks for being so sweet and commenting. You're awesome :)

**Lily Chaplin: **It's weird because so many people are like "don't talk about his drug use" and then two seconds later they're saying, "I want to know about his drug use. Why isn't anyone reporting on that?" I just hope Lea and the rest of the cast are alright. I mean, fans were heartbroken let alone the people who actually saw him almost every day. Thanks for reviewing :)

**Guest 1: **I'm glad you like when Marley doesn't really hate Ryder because that was basically what this entire chapter was about and it should last for…. A little bit. ;) Haha. Thanks so much for voting for me! That means the world to me! And thanks for reviewing. You truly are amazing and I love you.

**LittleMusicalOwl: **Your review made me smile and I love you for that! Omg. You're just so sweet I can't stop smiling. :) I'm glad you like Katie! No one else does lol. Haha I'm so happy that this story makes you fangirl. That's so awesome! Thanks so much for reviewing and I hope you keep doing it because you sound so awesome :)

**Bri Deene: **I LOVE YOU AND I HOPE WE CAN KEEP TALKING BECAUSE I MISS YOU! Thanks so much for reviewing by the way. Awww I'm glad you like Blaine and Marley. I like scenes on Glee when they're together and friends. :) Idk… I love Blake and Melissa together and I think they're adorable but they're so young and they just started dating this year. Plus, Idk if anyone ever confirmed it, did they? I thought it was just speculation. Idk. I'm happy for them either way because obviously I don't know them but Blake is only 20.

**Reflections of Twilight: **I was never really a Cory fan either. I loved Finn and Cory seemed cool but he wasn't my idol either…. until he died and now I just watch videos of him on Youtube. I literally watch them all day. He's become my life. I wish Lea and his family the best too. It can't be easy losing someone close to you, let alone having to do it in the spotlight. Thanks for your review and thanks for liking this story. :)

**So there you have chapter 5. Thanks so much to everyone who's reading this. I still think it's so awesome that people read my stories. So thanks for that :)**


	6. Chapter 6

It had only been about 5 minutes since the last time Marley texted Kitty explaining her new friendship with Lady Bieber, but it felt like a lifetime to the blonde as she sat in the mall waiting for her parents to finish shopping. Kitty was mad that Marley had told her the news through a text message. She was confused because the last time she checked, the brunette hated the Lynn kid. She was disappointed that it had only taken Marley a matter of days to fall back into boy wonder's charms.

But most important of Kitty's spectrum of emotions was upset. While Marley, Blaine, and Ryder had each other, Kitty was alone in California. They were connecting and reconnecting while Kitty was just trying to survive getting through a day of school without being talked about. It turns out when kids find out about an apparent suicide attempt, they target the 'weakling'. Many may assume that they'd sympathize but that was only in a perfect world and Kitty now knew that the world was far from perfect.

Her phone buzzed as soon as her mom walked up to her holding ten bags. Upon her return home, her parents promised that they'd try to reconnect with Kitty in a way they hadn't before she left. They truly felt terrible about her low self-esteem. It had become their goal to take her places and bond with her. They wanted her to know they were there for her. But the more places she went with them, the more distant she felt. No matter how hard she tried to let her guard down, her conversations with them seemed forced and unnatural.

"Are you ready, sweetie?" Her mom cooed, bending down to help her daughter up off the bench. Kitty forced a smile and placed her phone into her back pocket. "Your dad is in the car. We were thinking about going to dinner too."

Kitty faked a smile and shook her head as she grabbed a few bags from her mother. "I have tons of homework due tomorrow."

"Oh." Her mom mumbled as they exited one of the side doors. Kitty could see her dad standing by the car appearing to be in the middle of an important phone call but upon seeing them, he hung up and jogged over. It was supposed to make Kitty feel special but she couldn't help but feel like a burden. He took the bags from Kitty's hands and walked along side of her.

"So where do you want to go for dinner?" Her dad asked as he put some of the bag into the trunk. He turned to help his wife with her supply of bags as Kitty walked around the car to sit in her seat.

"She has homework, Glenn."

She wasn't sure if they were aware that she could hear them but they started having a whisper argument over whether or not Kitty was telling the truth. It wasn't necessarily a lie so Kitty didn't feel too bad. She had a few math problems and about 7 chapters to read of her history text book. In order to distract herself, she opened her phone and read Marley's text message.

**From Marley: **_You know he's not a bad guy. Give him the BOD. Please?_

Kitty chuckled and shook her head. If that girl honestly that she'd give Ryder the benefit of the doubt, she really was stupid and deserved to get her heart broken again. Ryder was a pig. He left her to be with some other girl, or at least that's what Marley had said when she was upset earlier. To forgive him was to forgive all cheaters and that wasn't right. Marley was being an idiot and not even Blaine, or all people, seemed to understood that.

**To Marley: **_Once a cheater, always a cheater. _

**X X X **

Call her crazy, but somehow Marley didn't think she'd ever end up needing to know how to properly handle imaginary numbers. If they didn't exist, then what was the point? As she shut her advanced calculus book and shoved it to the side of her desk upon completing her homework, she grabbed her phone and read through some of her text messages.

**From Kitty: **_Once a cheater, always a cheater._

**To Kitty: **_Good thing we're just friends then. _

Leave it to Kitty to make her question her every move. Turning, she saw Blaine sitting on her bed holding a copy of "Julius Caesar". He was studying his lines for his English class' performance of an extremely overrated play. If she had it her way, nobody would have to read Shakespeare more than once in their life. Instead, they'd focus on the works of Edmund Rostand or even Adrienne Kennedy who inspired a movement.

Shaking the thought from her head, she unplugged her phone from her charger and jumped to sit next to him on the bed. He groaned at first before giving in with a sigh. "What did Kitty say?"

"She said that he was just going to cheat again." Marley mumbled with an eye roll. Blaine laughed at her before putting her book to the side. "I mean, I told her we were just friends."

"You honestly think you guys are going to be just friends for that long?" Blaine asked, the disbelief etched in his tone. Upon her nod, he continued with a shake of his own head. "Marley, you two aren't going to make it a week."

She gasped and shoved him. "That's not true at all."

"Come on," He teased with a laugh. "You two are each other's lobsters."

She scrunched her eyebrows before licking her lips. "Last time I checked I was a person but thanks for _that_ input."

He laughed again and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. This wasn't a joking matter, not anymore. She trusted him and he seemed to think the entire thing was funny. "You guys are like Ross and Rachel. No matter how hard you try, you guys are always going to find each other."

"We've dated once. To compare us to TV's greatest couple ever written is a little dramatic, even for you Mr. Brutus." She mumbled, pointing at his copy of the play. He smiled for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"Marley, there's got to be over 200 schools in all of Ohio and you both chose McKinley. That's got to mean something."

She shook her head but she'd be lying if she said the thought never crossed her mind. "I chose McKinley because _somebody_ told me that Ryder didn't go there."

Rolling his eyes, Blaine grabbed his book and stood up from her bed, smiling as she pouted. "Whatever, Marls. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, ok? We'll go to the game together."

"Actually, Ryder's picking me up." She smiled as Blaine rolled his eyes playfully.

"Well then I'll meet you there." He shoved his book into his backpack and threw it over his shoulder, opening her bedroom door with a smile. "See you tomorrow, _Rachel." _

**X X X **

After talking to and begging Coach Bieste to let him play, Ryder had finally convinced her to put him in for the second half. She hadn't wanted to play him at all but with the playoffs coming up, she couldn't risk not having him in. Regardless of what he or his father believed, he truly was one of the best players on the team.

Now, all Ryder had to do was pick up Marley and all he could do was pray that Mark wasn't there. Apparently even though Marley tried to explain their messed up relationship, Mark still wasn't too pleased with the idea of them hanging out. Quite honestly, Ryder couldn't even blame him. He pushed the feelings aside as he pulled up in front of her house.

It wasn't the smallest house in the district but it was definitely nowhere near the size of his. There was a white picket fence surrounding the yard, which had flowers almost at every turn it seemed. A big red door with windows carved in was accompanied by a hanging flower. He vaguely remembered a time when he was much younger when he wanted to buy a big pot of blue flowers for no other reason than he loved blue. His mom yelled at him for trying to mess up her 'luxurious' garden. Next to the door was a nice brown bench that looked worn down. He wondered if she ever went out at night just to read there like in those sappy love movies by Nicholas Sparks.

His house was giant; too big, almost. He had a theory that if he and his mom never left it, they could go weeks without ever seeing each other. Narrowing his eyes, he took the keys out of the ignition and forced himself to walk up the pathway to her door. He was jealous of her. There was nothing else to it.

"You do know that if you don't knock, she isn't going to come to the door, right?" A voice said and Ryder turned just in time to see a guy coming out of the garage holding a small handkerchief that was covered in oil. Ryder smiled and chuckled awkwardly as he nodded his head. "I don't trust you"

"I uh… I know." Ryder mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair. "But I- I'm going to prove you wrong."

"Yeah, well we'll see." Mark nodded his head towards the door and smiled slightly even though he was sure it came out as more of a grimace. "You can just walk in. She was in the living room the last time I saw her."

"Thanks." Ryder returned the smile and walked into the house, making sure to wipe his shoes so the guy couldn't yell at him for that too. Being extra careful not to slam the door, he gently pressed it shut and turned to see Marley staring at him with an amused smile her face. After looking at her for a few seconds, he licked his lips and frowned. "He wants to kill me."

Marley scoffed and shook her head as she stood up from the couch. "Don't be a baby. You could take him."

Ryder laughed and shook his head as he waited for Marley to grab her shoes. Her hair was down and she had sunglasses on the top of her head, even though it was going to be dark by the time they got to the field. She was gorgeous but in a cute, relaxed sort of way. It wasn't like she was particularly trying and that's why he fell in love with her. Because she didn't need to try; she just was.

He licked his lips to remind himself that those thoughts couldn't happen anymore. He ruined that. He gave her a onceover and smiled. "Are you ready?"

"To see you tackle some people?" She asked with a childish grin on her face. He hated that his heart seemed to leap. "Always."

"Sweet!" He opened the door and like the gentleman he was, let her through the door first. "Let's go."

**X X X **

**And here marks the return of Kitty Wilde. Now the party can really start :)**

**Thanks to:: **

**Iluvwillschuester: **I hope your all-nighter was fantastic! I'm really bad at those. I always end up falling asleep :) Thank you so very much for reviewing this (and Until I'm Broken) - Those reviews made me laugh or at least the first two did because the first chapter you were all "This story seems to cute." And then two seconds later I read your next review and it was all "NOOOO!" So thanks for making me laugh hehe. I'm halfway through the new chapter of Count on Me. My mom is making me clean the house because my grandparents are coming over for the week next week. I'll review as soon as I finish it :) THANKS AGAIN FOR THE REVIEW!

**Iheartart13: **YAY! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! How have you been? :) Aw thanks for reading them all! 2 minutes is impressive lol. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SO SWEET! I've missed you so much it isn't even funny. I hope YOUR summer is going great. :) Thank you for your lovely review!

**Gleek99: **That is absolutely the sweetest thing ever. Thank you so much for saying that and thanks for the review. :) I hope you liked this chapter too :)

**ChuckNutz: **Awww you don't have to apologize and you don't have to review all the time even though I appreciate it when you do. Enjoy your vacation girl! YOU'RE IN GREECE! Get off my fanfiction woman haha. :) I do appreciate your review though so thank you for taking the time out of your amazing time in Greece to read and comment. It means so much to me it isn't even funny. Now that I've thanked you, GO BACK TO ENJOYING YOUR VACATION YOU CRAZY MOFO! ;)

**Guest 1: **I LOVE Ryder and Marley on the show too! I just hope Rib makes them canon so I don't have to rely on fanfics to give me feels lol. :) Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! You're so sweet :)

**Guest 2: **Ryder _does_ need to make Marley trust him again and I'm sure he will….unless Katie gets in the way. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm so glad you're loving this story.

**Bri Deene: **Hahaha. Your comment made me laugh. Ryder did totally get friendzoned :P Suits him right. Haha I love Marley's brother too. I know! I want them to be engaged but then I don't… I do but I don't. They haven't even known each other for a year. It just seems rushed, but love is love. Thanks for reviewing. I love you!

**LittleMusicalOwl: **Love your username. I don't know if I told you that before. I feel like I did though…? But I love it in case I didn't tell you that before. Awwww you're so sweet! :) I'm glad you like Mark! I kinda love him. :) Thank you SOOO much for being so sweet and thanks for reading and reviewing. You're so awesome and I love you.

**CamrynLynn19: **You see a kitten when you look at him too?! I thought I was the only one! He honestly looks like an adorable little kitten. Haha sorry for sinking your feels. I don't think this chapter was soooo bad so hopefully I don't break your heart again. Aww I feel bad lol. Thanks for reading and commenting! (And I love ALL of your stories!)

**Yellowmusician: **omg thank you so much! I love that this story gave you goosebumps. Thank you so very much for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me.

**TeaAndGlee: **I'm trying to make it realistic by making it slow and I'm so thankful that it's satisfying. I've been worried about that actually. Yeah, I feel bad for Ryder too but I can't make my fingers type anything that would make him happy haha. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.

**Peninc: **Haha yeah… we'll see how long 'friends' lasts ;) Aw thanks for reading my other fics. I'm glad you liked them and I'm so happy you're liking this story too. Thanks for all of your comments so far. They're so sweet and I'm so thankful :) Thanks again! You're amazing.

**PandaChubz31: **Thanks for commenting! I'm glad you like the story and the last chapter. I hope you like this chapter too.

**Thanks to EVERYONE who reads this whether you comment or not. You guys are awesome and I'm happy you like this story enough to put up with it. :) **

**The lobster reference, which I hope you all know anyway, is from Friends as are Ross and Rachel. I just thought I'd let anyone who might not have known. And in the chance you didn't know that, YOU NEED TO WATCH FRIENDS! **

**Love you, Kaylie! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Marley sat with her fingers crossed as she watched the clock run down. McKinley was down by 3 points and there were only 30 seconds left to play. It was strange to her being so invested in the outcome of a sporting event but it was important to Ryder so it was important to her. Blaine growled as she squeezed his hand as if she were giving birth.

"This is so nerve-racking." She mumbled to him as she watched Ryder clap his hands, thus dispersing the huddle that was surrounding him. They took their positions quickly and Marley held her breath as the referee blew the whistle, starting the clock once more. "I hate football."

Blaine chuckled and held his breath too as Ryder set himself up to throw the ball almost 40 yards down the field towards Mike. As the ball left his hands, the fans on the bleachers stood and the world seemed silent. Marley was completely astounded. It was like in that moment, it didn't matter who you were or where you came from. It didn't matter if you were a bully or if you were the recipient of bullying. Teacher or student. Friend or foe. Everyone was rooting for the same thing.

And as the ball fell into the other boy's hands perfectly, nobody cared what they might have looked like. People were jumping up and down and screaming words of love towards the players on the field below. Marley let out a sigh of relief as she looked around. Her eyes searched the field for Ryder and when she saw him standing in the middle of a bunch of guys who were about to pick him up, she couldn't help but smile.

"And you're sure there's no way you're getting back together with him?" Blaine whispered, the teasing evident in his light tone. Marley rolled her eyes and playfully nudged him, trying her hardest not to think about the truth behind his words.

After tonight, she wasn't sure how she felt about Ryder and she didn't like it. She wanted to be friends with him. Just friends. After everything he put her through, she couldn't trust that he wouldn't break her heart all over again. But there was still a part of her that wanted to curl up beside him at night and forget about the rest of the world. It seemed that part of her just kept growing and expanding, earning more power with each passing day.

**X X X **

"We don't have to stay long." He mumbled for about the millionth time as all three of them walked up the lawn of one of the linebackers. "We can leave whenever you guys want to."

Marley looked around at all the teenagers who had already seemed to have had too much to drink. Glancing down at her phone to check the time, she was shocked to see it had only been about 40 minutes since the game had ended and people were already wasted. "It's fine, Ryder."

"Yeah, dude. Seriously. Calm down." Blaine reassured, giving his friend a pat on the back. Ryder still wasn't exactly used to the idea of Blaine being his friend but if Blaine was willing to try then so was Ryder.

Ryder looked around the living room and smiled slightly at his two friends. They seemed more than happy to be here as long as Ryder wanted to be. He wasn't even sure why. He had hurt both of them. Turning, he saw Katie standing by a table with a red solo cup in her hand. If looks could kill, he'd certainly be dead. Gulping, he turned back towards Blaine and Marley while shaking his head. "Yeah, but I'm not sure I want to stay here."

Blaine chuckled and reached to grab a wine cooler from a cooler that was resting by a piano. "I'm sure she's over it."

Both Ryder and Marley shook their heads. Marley barely knew the girl but after the confrontation at the restaurant, she was certain that this Katie girl wasn't going to stop until she won. The brunette wasn't quite sure what Katie wanted to win but that didn't stop her from worrying. Ryder, on the other hand, had known Katie since they were running around the playground in kindergarten. He knew how persistent she was.

"Not much of a drinker, huh?" A boy asked as he approached them. Ryder rolled his eyes and tried to push him away but it appeared he wouldn't budge. Marley instantly recognized him as the boy who pushed her over a few days ago by accident.

Blaine looked down at his drink and smiled awkwardly, not one to give into the peer pressure the other teenager was presenting. "Not anymore."

"Hey hot stuff." The boy continued ignoring Blaine, before flooding his mouth with an unknown substance as he looked Marley up and down. She rolled her eyes confidently but she felt her goose bumps grace her skin as her anxiety grew. "I'm Mike by the way."

She took his hand when he held it out for her to shake and bit her tongue as he pulled her towards him. Without so much as a second thought, Ryder stepped in and pushed Mike backwards earning a few glances to be thrown his way. Marley turned awkwardly towards Blaine and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"It's ok." Blaine mumbled as he grabbed her hand. "We'll just go outside and make fun of all the douchebags."

Ryder watched them walk across the living room to a table with a bunch of snacks resting on it. Once he was satisfied that Marley had gotten there without being rudely grabbed or interrupted again, he turned towards Mike ready to make him apologize, but the boy was already preoccupied with a girl Ryder saw a few times in the hallway. Rolling his eyes, Ryder turned to saunter over to where Blaine and Marley were laughing about something but someone pulled him back.

"Hey baby." She greeted coolly, snaking her arms around his waist in a way that made his stomach flutter. Maybe it was the rush he got from winning today or the feeling of victory he had when he realized he and Marley were going to be fine, but for some reason he was no longer mad at Katie. Rather, he was actually a little delighted and relieved to see her. "Still hanging out with that charity case?"

He allowed the insult to go over his head and smiled slightly. "You don't have to be so mean to her, you know?"

"I can't help if I feel threatened." She cooed, rising to her tip toes so she could get closer to his face. His confidence rose as he took in her jealousy. Her breath smelled minty fresh and he felt himself becoming drawn to her. "I hear she's crazy."

Ryder blinked a few times before scrunching his eyes as her words flew around his mind. Crazy. Where the hell did that rumor come from? Unless people found out which meant it'd only be a matter of time until thy realized that he never did go to Africa like he'd been saying he did. People knew about the trial; they didn't know about what he'd been doing and where he'd been staying the days before the trial.

He backed away from Katie with his eyes narrowed. Suddenly he wasn't in the mood to have her hanging all over him. "You don't even know her."

"And you do?" The girl tested, smirking as Ryder appeared taken aback. He licked his lips and shook his head to clear his thoughts but it was already apparent that she knew exactly what he was thinking. "I bet you'd feel terrible if you knew that you could've prevented a terrible rumor being spread about her."

It was now official. He was no longer attracted to her. Not in the slightest. In fact, he was more disgusted with her than anything. "I don't know what you're talking about, Katie."

"I was in that mall last year, Ryder." She whispered, a tint of evil shining in her eyes, or at least that what's Ryder assumed it was. His face hardened and he narrowed his eyes. "You remember what you said over the intercom, right?"

He licked his lips and crossed his arms. He knew she wasn't the sweetest person but he never imagined she was capable of blackmail. "What do you want?"

With a smirk, she too took a step back and patted his shoulder gently. "I'll let you know."

Ryder shivered as she stepped towards him and kissed him on the cheek before she turned around and whipped his face with her hair. As frustrated as he was with the gesture, he didn't flip her off or yell at her. The information she was keeping in her manipulative little brain was too potentially life-threatening. He wasn't even certain if he could tell anyone without it spreading like wildfire. With a deep breath, he shook his head and tried to push the negative thoughts from his head.

He had just won a game that guaranteed McKinley was getting into the playoffs. He was at a victory party. Life was supposed to be amazing right now but it wasn't. It was far from it.

But he could fake it and act like it was. So he reached for a red cup and gulped it down. Looking around, there were plenty more where what came from. With a smile plastered on his face, he reached his arms into the air and screamed, "We're going to playoffs!"

Blaine whipped his head around upon hearing his friend's excited words and shook his head. Figures Ryder would end up wasted. That's how he looked anyway. Quickly, Blaine approached Ryder and dragged him away from the multitude of girls that had surrounded him in the few short seconds between his chant and now.

"Dude, what the hell is your problem?" Ryder asked once he ripped his arm away from Blaine's grasp. "And where the hell did Marley go?"

"You're drunk." Blaine pointed out smugly, crossing his arms across his chest. Ryder scrunched his eyebrows while licking his lips. Where in the hell did that come from?

"I just got here." He answered simply, watching with satisfaction as Blaine mentally reconsidered his words. "Where's Marley?"

"She had to go to the bathroom."

"Why'd you think I was drunk?"

Blaine smirked and shook his head, finding humor in the situation now. "You were acting like an idiot. I just assumed."

Ryder chuckled and shook his head. It'd been a while since the two were able to talk and act like they were friends. With the Kurt situation and then the trial, Ryder wasn't really sure what he could call Blaine but right now he was sure they were at least friends. "No, I just always act like an idiot."

"I know. I remember." Blaine mumbled easily, smiling at the thought of how energetic Ryder had always been and how little Ryder cared about what other people thought. Her smile fell, though, when he saw Marley quickly walking towards them with an anxious look on her face. Sensing this, Ryder turned around just in time for Marley to fall into his arms in sobs.

"Marls, what's wrong?" Ryder asked quickly. He was ashamed to admit that although he was worried, he loved the feeling of having her hug him again. "What happened?"

Blaine looked around the room. Most of the people didn't care. They were too busy dancing, screaming, and drinking to even notice if he punched them in the face. His heart broke when he heard Marley whisper, "I just want to go home."

Ryder nodded, turning to Blaine but Blaine wasn't paying attention to them anymore. He was focused on the girl standing in the corner of the room watching the scene with a smirk on her face. Blaine's skin burned as anger flooded through his being. She truly was a bitch. Just as he was about to march over and give her a taste of her own medicine, Ryder mumbled, "Blaine, can you drive?"

Turning, he licked his lips and shook his head. "I don't- I mean I can't. I haven't since the accident. I never even got my license."

"Look, I had a cup of… well, something. Marley is crying. You're the only one who _can_ drive us home." Ryder said as he picked up Marley, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Blaine's eyes widened as he followed Ryder out of the house. "You have your permit though, right?"

"That expired weeks ago." Blaine muttered as Ryder opened the backseat to his car, sliding Marley in first before turning back to talk to Blaine. "Not to mention I don't have an adult in the car with me _and_ it's past curfew! Plus I haven't driven in over a year."

Ryder smiled and reached into his pocket. With a simple movement of his arm, he tossed Blaine the keys and smirked as Blaine gulped. "Even more fun then."

Blaine shook his head even though Ryder was no longer looking at him. Instead, he was climbing into the back seat and positioning himself so Marley could lean on him, in both the figurative and literal sense of the phrase. With a slight eye roll, Blaine gave into the peer pressure and sat down in the driver's seat.

"This is so stupid." Blaine muttered, mostly to himself. "We're going to crash. You're going to die. And everybody will hate me."

"Just stay on the right side of the road and stop when you see red and go when there's green." Ryder responded quickly before turning his attention back to Marley who was now fighting back a giggle. "Oh and don't speed."

"Thanks." Blaine retorted, shaking his head stubbornly before pulling out of the parking space.

Marley sat up quickly and pointed. "Don't hit that dog!"

All three of them jerked forward as Blaine slammed on the breaks. Ryder rubbed his head after he slammed it on the seat and turned to look out the window. "What dog?"

Marley, too, rubbed her head with a frown on her face. "That was a lot funnier in my head."

"You were joking?" Blaine bellowed, turning around to glare at her. Chuckling a little once his head stopped hurting, Ryder turned to give Marley a quick look. "You have a sick sense of humor."

Ryder jumped when someone behind them honked. "You ok?" He asked once Blaine started moving again, slowly but at least they weren't stopped. Marley sniffled and wiped her tears before resting her head on the window.

Without a second thought, she shook her head and allowed a few more tears to escape her eyes. Ryder reached out to hug her but she shook her head once more and pushed him away lightly. Eventually, he stopped trying. She spent the rest of the time waiting to be dropped off. Both of them glanced at her every few seconds but that didn't bother her as much as it may have seemed. In fact, she liked to know that they cared.

But she was put in a position she couldn't handle. She couldn't talk to Ryder or everyone would find out, so to let him hug her seemed wrong. Sure, she wanted nothing more than to lean over and lay against him but that was out of the question.

It seemed no matter what either she or Ryder did, someone would always be a step ahead of them tearing them down. And this time, Marley had no choice but to give in, to let the evil one win. Because it wasn't just Marley on the line this time. It was Ryder too.

And she'd never forgive herself if Ryder got hurt. Never.

**X X X **

**So I've been super busy these past two weeks and I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to update today. I have to pack because my parents are sending me to boarding school and my grandparents are in town. Between that and trying to finish summer work while also going to preseason for tennis, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to stay committed to updating this every Tuesday. That being said, I'm still going to try my hardest to update at least once every 10 days, no matter what. This may not happen but I thought I'd warn you just in case. **

**Thanks so much for reviewing: :**

**(These might be a little shorter than usual)**

**Iluvwillschuester: **Don't even worry about it, my darling :) That honestly happens to me all the time. Kitty scares me too sometimes until I remember that I'm the one writing. :P Aw thanks so much! It's really hard for me to write Ryder and Marley as distant friends now because I just want them to have babies and get married (not necessarily in that order) OMG could you imagine that though? PLEASE RIB! Sorry… anyway. I miss Tumblr so much! I think I've been on it about 3 times in the past 4 days which is really weird for me. Anyhow, thanks for reviewing! You're spectacular.

**CamrynLynn19: **Seriously I'm so happy you think he looks like a kitten. I tried to tell my friends that and they just kind of look at me weird and say "he looks like a human…" They just don't understand us. Thank you so much for reading and I'm so happy this story gives you feels, even if maybe it won't for a little bit ;) Thank you so much again! You're marvelous!

**Guest 1: **I love the idea of Blaine and Marley being friends! It makes me happy! :) Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I'm so happy that this story gives you Ryley feels. It feels like I _have_ to write stories because RIB killed my Ryley feels on the show. Stupid people… :P Anyway, thanks for reviewing! You're fantastic!

**ChuckNutz: **FRIENDS IS THE BEST SHOW EVER! I watch the reruns every day when they come on so I could never judge you. :P Haha awwww you're literally the sweetest! I love you! Seriously, you need to go enjoy Greece! Lol. I will love you even if you skip a chapter! YOU'RE IN GREECE! Thanks for being so amazing though. :) You're honestly so sweet! And thanks for always reading and reviewing. You make me smile. You're superb!

**TeaAndGlee: **Friends is the best show ever, not going to argue with that. :) I think Marley and Blaine are my new favorite people, but I can't ever say that again or RIB will ruin it on the show. I just know it. He tends to do that to me. I mean, at first I loved the idea of Jake and Marley but then Ryder came along and seemed to have crushed that. But THEN I loved Ryder and Marley and then RIB smooshed that by making Jarley happen. I just can't win. :P Yeah… there's a lot more Ryder heartache coming. Don't you worry. ;) Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! You're phenomenal!

**Bri Deene: **Yeah, I figure the whole Kitty/Marley feud is in pretty much every other story so I decided to just have them be friends. I mean, with Katie and all, it'd just be too much Marley hate and then I'd have to write a self-esteem story line and I don't want to do that. Marley never felt insecure except for when in the presence of guys, or at least in my story anyway. :P Jake and Sam are definitely returning. Sam is my favorite character haha. :) I'm cirious too. I hear Finn's death is going to go along with drugs. I just hope they don't make a mockery of it, you know? Anyway, thanks so much for being so super-duper and reviewing. You're remarkable!

**Iheartart13: **FRIENDS IS MY FAVORITE SHOW TOO! Congratulations! Driving is fun, isn't it? Do you have a car? My parents don't trust me with one because I almost crashed my mom's car this one time. It totally wasn't my fault though. A bee flew into the window and I had a mini heart attack. Not my fault. :P I totally would've just pmed you if I had time but my tumblr is ohsoblake. Hehe. I regret nothing. ;) Thanks for reviewing! You're unbelievable!

**Peninc: **That's awesome! Sorry this one is so late in the day! I'm honestly so swamped. It's crazy. Hmmm Kitty in Ohio? Maybe… maybe not. ;) Thank you so much for always reading and reviewing. I think I say that in every response but I mean it. :) You're extraordinary!

**LittleMusicalOwl: **You're very welcome :) Aw I kinda love Kitty. I think besides Marley and Ryder, she's my favorite newbie. I mean, yeah she's a bitch but idk. I just love her. Haha. I love Mark and Ryder! Their relationship is going to be so much fun to write. I can't wait. Haha awww thanks so much! I love that you're loving this story! Thanks for reading and reviewing… again. You're outstanding!

**Alright… so it turns out the responses aren't any shorter than they normally are. ANYWAY, I love you all you amazing humans you. Please keep reviewing and please don't hate me if it takes longer than a week to get the next chapter up. I'm so swamped with everything. **

**I do appreciate every single one of you and I love you with all my heart. **

**Tumblr: ohsoblake **

**I have nothing else or else I'd give that to you. I really do love you all. Sorry if there are any typos or anything.**

**Thanks for reading/favoriting/following/reviewing! **

**Love always, Kaylie**


	8. Chapter 8

"She just came up to me and told me that I had to stay away from him." Marley sobbed into the phone the next morning. She was supposed to be at work but she had called in sick given the fact that she couldn't sit up without crying. "We were just starting to reconnect!"

Kitty sat on her bed with her legs crossed and her back against her head board. At first leaving Rehab had been an exciting experience for her, but now she just wanted to go all the way to Ohio and be with the girl who had become her best friend. "And you listened to that little bitch?"

"I don't have a choice." Marley looked around her room before he eyes landed on a picture she had taken the night before Ryder left. It was right before Mr. Schuester had walked in and told them they had to go to sleep. Ryder was upset about leaving at the time but with a little persuasion and a few kisses, she managed to convince him to smile for a few seconds so she could take the perfect picture. They both looked so happy. She missed that part of her and she missed that part of him. "She knows."

"She knows?" Kitty asked not too pleased with how vague her friend was being. It's like the brunette thought that Kitty knew everything without having to be told. "What does she know?"

"That we were in rehab." Marley explained after wiping a few stray tears. As she waited for Kitty to respond in some way, she stood from her bed and took the picture of her wall being careful not to tear the edges with the tape she had used to stick it there. "And he wants that to be a secret."

Kitty scoffed and shook her head, trying really hard not to roll her eyes at Marley's petty excuses. "That boy is so dumb, I swear."

Marley sniffled and scrunched her eyebrows. "Because he doesn't want to be defined by what his father did? I don't think that's reason to call him stupid, Kitty."

"He screamed it at that mall we went to." Kitty responded dryly as she looked down at her nails. She sighed when she realized her polish was starting to peel. As she tried to figure out a time in her head when she could get another manicure, she mumbled, "Look babe, I'm sorry about this bitch and you know I'd kick her ass for you if I were there."

Marley laughed and shook her head as she wiped the last of her tears. She'd cried enough over Ryder Lynn. She was done and it saddened her that this time it wasn't even his fault. "I have to go. My brother thinks I'm having a nervous breakdown."

"Oh, is that not what you were doing for the past twenty minutes?" Kitty joked as she laid back down in her bed and pulled the covers over her body. "You could've fooled me."

Marley rolled her eyes and removed the phone from her ear. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Looking down at the picture in her hands, she threw her phone towards the bed hoping it'd land on a pillow. How had her smile seemed so real when she knew this was bound to happen? She clearly remembered doubting the possibility of their relationship once Ryder returned to the real world. Why didn't she see the signs? Why hadn't she listened to her fears? With a sigh, she opened her desk drawer and slid the picture into the back, upside down, making sure that it didn't get wrinkled. She didn't necessarily want to look at it all the time, but she sure as hell didn't want to ruin it either.

"Mar!" Mark called as he opened the door. Quickly, she shut her desk drawer and turned around with a small smile on her face. "You ok?"

"Perfect." She whispered as she nodded her head.

After looking her up and down as if to check to see if she was telling the truth, he mumbled, "Alright, cool. There's someone here to see you."

Marley rolled her eyes and looked down at her pajamas. Figures she'd be wearing the bunny pajamas her brother had gotten her as a joke when she was first released. She had plenty of much more flattering PJs to wear, but no. She had to go and pick the most embarrassing pajamas she possibly could have. "I have to get changed."

Mark chuckled and swung the door open farther revealing a very apologetic looking Mr. Schuester. Although she wanted to kill Mark, she couldn't help but feel excitement as she saw her favorite man in the world standing there with a small smile on his face. He may have looked exhausted and she may looked broken again, but she smiled and ran up to give him a hug. Mark shook his head slightly and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

"So I saw Ryder yesterday." Will mentioned as he sat down at Marley's desk. She knew he'd never snoop, but she suddenly became very nervous he'd stumble upon the picture Marley had just hidden. "He was late to our meeting."

She wasn't sure why he was bringing it up; she just knew that if her brother found out she had gone to a high school party, there'd be trouble. "Oh really? That's interesting. Did he um… did he mention me at all?"

X X X

_Ryder walked through the door slowly, trying his hardest not to draw attention to himself. It was already midnight and his curfew was supposed to be 10:30. Try as he might, he couldn't seem to shut the door very quietly because within two seconds he heard a door opening. _

"_We had a meeting." He heard Will mutter and he thanked the heavens for Will catching him and not his mom. Turning, he offered the man a simple smile before it fell quickly. "Where were you?" _

"_Would you totally kill me if I asked for a favor?" Ryder asked quietly not expecting to hear the answer he wanted. Will nodded, though, curious to see where the boy could possibly be going. "Marley, Blaine, and I all went to a party and it was fine, well actually not really. Katie is kind of mean. Well that's an understatement. She's a bitch-." _

"_Ryder, the point." Will interrupted, trying to get Ryder back on topic. Ryder stopped talking for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and starting again. _

"_Right, well it was fine but then Marley came over crying and it wasn't just like her eyes were watering. She was sobbing so much I had to carry her to the car and hold her when Blaine drove home." _

_Will was surprised, not just by how open Ryder was being when it had taken him almost a year to say _one_ thing when they were in rehab, but by the fact that Blaine, Ryder, and Marley had all decided to hang out. Blaine hated Ryder. Ryder broke up with Marley. How did they always manage to find each other. Seconds later, Will found an error in the boy's story. "Does Blaine even have his permit?" _

_Ryder's face turned red and he scratched the back of his neck. "I uh… He was… I mean, we rode to the party on bikes." _

"_On bikes…" Will decided to mutter instead of forcing the truth out of Ryder. Obviously he was lying and Ryder knew that just as well as he did but he wasn't in the mood to lecture the boy. He clearly already knew that wasn't a good choice by how embarrassed he got. "And what exactly is your favor?" _

"_Can you just- can you check on Marley tomorrow?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I mean, she was totally find being with me but then all of a sudden she wanted nothing to do with me. It's like something happened and she just remembered why she was mad at me in the first place." _

"_So you want me to go talk to Marley and ask her why she doesn't like you anymore?" Will asked with a slight tease in his voice. It would be a lie to say Will wasn't a little bit flattered at the boy's request seeing as it was clear Ryder saw Will as a friend figure, but the idea was out of the question. "I can't do that." _

"_No! I just want you to make sure she's alright. You don't even have to tell me anything after. I'm just… worried I guess." He mumbled, taking the time to lean against the inside of the front door. Will took note of how tired Ryder was and reached to grab his coat from the coat rack. "I miss her, Mr. Schue but she doesn't seem to miss me. What am I supposed to do?" _

_Will sighed and reached out to pat the boy's shoulder. "Maybe it's a good thing, you know. You're just teenagers." _

"_But I love her." Ryder justified with a shrug of his shoulders. _

"_I know you think you do, but there's a lot about love you still have to learn." Will noted as he reached for the door handle. "You're young now and someday, maybe in college, you'll meet a girl who you _really_ love." _

"_You love Emma, don't you?" Ryder asked before Will could fully exit his house. Upon seeing Will nod his head, he continued, "You met her in high school. What's the difference between Marley and me?" _

"_You guys went through a lot more than Emma and I did in a much shorter amount of time." _

"_Which helped us get to know each other more." Ryder defended, suddenly seeing Mr. Schuester as more of an enemy that Katie proved to be. Thinking of the girl made Ryder nervous. He didn't want Marley's fresh start to be ruined just because he happened to have befriended a psychopath. That wouldn't be fair and he'd never forgive himself. "You can think what you want, Mr. Schue, but I love Marley and I will get her back." _

_Will sighed but left the house without arguing. In the morning he'd go an check in on Marley and then try to go talk to Blaine. It'd been a while since the two of them had had a sit down and he wasn't sure how Blaine would handle himself after being forced to drive someone's car. He'd probably be having some sort of break down about the law and authority. He could just picture it now._

X X X

"Oh really? That's interesting. Did he um… did he mention me at all?"

Will smiled slightly as he nodded his head. He remembered exactly what it was like being a teenager and he would never make Marley, or any of his patients, feel like they were 'bad' for participating in normal teenage activities. "Just that you left the party crying and that you might need someone to talk to."

"He said that?"

Will rethought his words trying to figure out when Marley could have gotten upset by his words. After a few seconds of thinking and coming up short, he said, "Do you want to talk to me about it?"

"About the party?" Marley asked even though she was sure that wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Well I mean, there was a lot of alcohol and a bunch of kids were pretty wasted but it was fun."

Will nodded his head slowly before taking a breath. "So it was fun until….?"

Marley sighed and shook her head. Had he asked her this same question a few minutes ago without ever bringing up Ryder, she may have told him. But the chances of Will telling Ryder exactly what she had to say were too high. If Will told her what Ryder said, there was no way he'd keep what she had to say from him.

"I don't know." She finally admitted, shrugging her shoulders absently as she sat down on her bed. "I guess I just got tired."

She was lying. Will could tell that much as she refused to make eye contact with him. What he couldn't figure out was why she thought she needed to lie to him or what she could possibly be lying about. With a sigh, he stood up from the desk chair and walked towards the bedroom door. "Then you should get some sleep. You're coming to the center tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

She hated lying to the man who had convinced her that her past didn't have to define the life she lived today. He showed her that not all guys are evil, with the help of Ryder, and managed to make her see the confidence she once had. And now he was walking out of her bedroom after being blatantly lied to. She wondered if he had any idea that she wasn't telling the truth.

She'd try her best to make it up to him in some way. She'd be more honest than she ever was about anything except what happened at the end of that party. Or maybe she'd just volunteer some of her time to help Mr. Schuester around the rehab center.

Regardless of what she did, she was confident that she'd do everything in her power to make it up to him because that's what he deserved.

**X X X **

**Sorry this chapter ended in a pretty weird spot. You'll get the official story as to why Marley left the party and why she's kind of in a confused state in the next few chapters. I promise all will be revealed eventually. **

_**However, **_**the next chapter is the last chapter I'm going to be posting from home for a while. Now, I've never been to this school before but my mom says that it's going to have a learning curve. Simply, she means that I'm going to have to learn how to live by myself, in a dorm type living situation, and do things that I wouldn't ordinarily have to do at my house, like clean. Haha. So that being said, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to find time to write. **

**I love writing and quite frankly hate doing grown up stuff so I'm going to be spending a lot of my free time working on Carry On and Until I'm Broken. But now that I'm going to be living in a building on a campus full of teenagers my age, I'm not sure how **_**free**_** my time is going to be. **

**I do, however, promise to write this story while I'm supposed to be working on essays and homework. I promise to make myself procrastinate to the fullest extent of the word in order to update this on time. **

**I just don't know if I'll succeed? **

**Enough of that. Special thanks to: **

**TeaAndGlee: **Yay for Tumblr! & Yay for wanting to slap RIB for killing us! They really make me mad sometimes. :P Awwww but heartbreak is my joy lol. I love writing heartbreak. :P Don't worry though, eventually this story will get to a point where I won't be able to even _think_ about breaking Ryder and Marley's hearts. I promise. Pinky promise actually. :) Thanks for reviewing! You're truly spectacular!

**Guest: **Haha I think that was just Melissa looking at Blake, not Marley looking at Ryder. Idk though. I'm not really sure if I _want_ Ryley to get together on Glee yet. I think I'd appreciate Kyder for a little just so Marley can realize how stupid she was dating Jake. Plus, I don't want it to feel forced just because Blake and Melissa are dating in real life, you know? Anyway, all will be revealed in the next few chapters. :) Thanks a billion for reviewing! You're totally amazing.

**LittleMusicalOwl**: Don't you hate it when that happens? It literally happens to me ALL THE TIME! Anyway, I'd love to see Kitty kick Katie's ass all the way to China, haha. And maybe we will? Maybe? ;) Ah! Sorry. You're going to have to wait a bit longer to see what happened to Marley at that party. But don't worry. I'll let y'all know eventually. :) Thanks so very much for reviewing! :)

**Peninc: **Aw thank you! I try my best to make it as realistic as possible. Hahahaha I was so excited because my dad gave me this thesaurus so I found all these fabulous synonyms . I was having a blast writing back to you guys. :) YOU'RE THE MAGNIFICENT ONE! Thanks for reviewing. You're SUPERB!

**ChuckNutz: **Well now I'm just impressed. This has GOT to be a record of some sort because you are totally correct. You have reviewed EVERY chapter. I applaud your hard work and offer you a cookie as a token of my gratitude. Sadly, I cannot send it to you via internet so you'll have to make a trip and visit me in order to receive your payment. In the meantime, I'm so happy you enjoyed your vacation to Greece and I'm so totally stoke to hear that my responses make you smile. :) I LOVE YOU! And I'm so happy you're continuing to enjoy my story. You are amazing and I love you. I love you and you're amazing. See what I did there? Just switched the sentence around. ;) Can you tell that I haven't slept in close to 14 hours? I'M SO HYPER! Anyway, thanks so so so very much for your reviews and remember, you're excellent!

**Thanks for reading and reviewing you guys! And also, a spider bit me on my knee and it itches and kills all at the same time. **

**So that happened. **

**Love you, Kaylie! **

**Please Review! **


	9. Chapter 9

Ryder wiped his face using his sleeve before he jogged up her pathway. Honestly, he hadn't meant to run as far as he did but the farther he ran from home, the more he wanted to keep going. Quickly, before knocking, he looked in the garage to see if Mark was in there. Thankfully, his car was gone. With a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited until his favorite brunette opened the door.

"Ryder," The girl breathed out quietly, taking the time to look past him towards the street as if she expected somebody to be standing behind him. He scrunched his eyebrows and followed her gaze coming across nothing that particularly stood out. "What are you doing here?"

"I was-." He started before he noticed she had refocused on the street behind him again. "Are you ok? What's-what are you looking at?"

Before he could turn around again, she reached out and pulled him into the house, slamming the door behind them. "N-nothing. I just- answer my question."

Ryder licked his lips and looked her up and down quickly, trying to determine whether or not she was really alright. She didn't seem to be. "I was just running and I passed your house. Are you ok?"

Marley didn't know what to do. She shouldn't have even let the boy into her house but he just seemed so confused and not to mention tired. Running a hand through her hair, she licked her lips and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm fine. You should go."

"I should g-?" Ryder started before shaking his head and looking around the house. Was this her way of telling him that Mark was somewhere in the house and he was currently in a bad mood? Did he think Ryder had something to do with her coming home crying two nights ago? "Are you feeling better?"

Marley sighed and reached to reopen the front door. "Look, Ryder. This is too hard. We can't do this anymore. I don't _want_ to do this anymore."

He shut his eyes tightly and allowed himself to shake his head. He should have _known_ this was going to happen. Sure, the love they had built in rehab was strong but it faded and he knew that. He knew there was no chance for them to ever have that kind of relationship again but after thinking about it for a while he came to the conclusion that a friendship with Marley was better than a life without her. But that would have meant his life had meaning and according to the universe, Ryder could _never_ enjoy his life.

He didn't _deserve_ to enjoy his life.

But didn't Ryder deserve more than the hand he was dealt? Didn't he deserve a dad who loved him? A mom who cared enough to stick up for him the _moment_ she knew the truth? Didn't he deserve a girl like the Marley he fell in love with not the one standing in front of him? The one he fell in love with didn't have the heart to play games but now it just seemed like her whole goal was to mess with his head. Didn't he deserve _something? _

As far as he could tell, he wasn't a bad kid. He always tried to be nice to everyone he met, regardless of their disposition. His dad for instance, he was always kind to his dad even though the man never returned the gesture. He stuck up for his friends. He never back talked, except on very rare occasion.

If he cared so much then why did nobody else care about him?

"Ryder-." Marley managed to mutter before he cut her off with a dry chuckle and a quick shake of his head. Her heart broke when his eyes opened and they glistened with fresh tears. "Ry-."

"No, you don't have to explain. I get it." He muttered, stuffing his hands into his pocket and walked through the door he hadn't even noticed she opened. "For what it's worth, I truly had the best time getting to know you."

Marley wanted to scream out for him, to run out onto her lawn and hug him but that would ruin everything. Maybe she should have said something, told him the real reason why she was pushing him away. But what would that do? Absolutely nothing. He would just reassure her that he'd talk to Katie or that he didn't care if people knew. But she did. And she supposed there would always be a part of her that did care about what people thought of her.

But as she shut the door and leaned against it, sliding down and pulling her knees towards her chest, she realized that she'd spend the rest of her life wondering what would have happened if she didn't let him go.

And that's what made her cry.

**X X X **

Ryder sat on Blaine's bed studying the piece of paper in front of him. It was a map of Europe that he had to memorize for a geography test he had tomorrow but he couldn't focus on the countries and cities. His mind kept drifting towards Marley as his eyes focused on Paris, the city of love. Call him corny, he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was that the universe had just taken away another thing he loved more than anything.

"You really need to focus." Blaine muttered absently as he caught Ryder's eyes start to drift again. He wasn't sure what happened but whatever it was wasn't helping Ryder's grades. "What the capital of Ireland?"

Ryder licked his lips and shook his head. Marley had always mentioned how beautiful the hills of Ireland looked in pictures. There was a time when he truly believed he'd take her there but that was before he screwed up, before she realized he wasn't everything she thought he was. "Who cares?"

Blaine cleared his throat. "You really need to-."

"What's the point?" Ryder interrupted, shaking his head. "If I gave you the right answer, you'd just congratulate me and get my hopes up. When in reality, I'm going to forget _everything_ when I have the test sitting in front of me and then everything is going to come crashing down. Again."

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Blaine asked, squinting his eyes as he tried to process the little information Ryder was giving him. "You're not even doing bad in the class."

Ryder sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Marley made her decision."

"Her dec-?"

"She doesn't want to be around me anymore." The boy whimpered and Blaine frowned. That is not what she was saying on Friday night before she disappeared at the party. "Which, you know, would have been totally fine and understandable except she led me on and made it seem like she _wanted _to be my friend."

"She did…" Blaine whispered shaking his head as he tried to come to grips with the situation unfolding in front of him.

Ryder shook his head and grabbed his textbook before standing up from the bed. "Whatever. I can't keep up with her and I'm pretty sure I don't want to anyway. She's giving me whiplash and I'm tired of it."

Blaine didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to stick up for Marley or agree with Ryder. "Isn't she worth it?"

"I used to think so." Was all Ryder offered in return before opening the bedroom door and walking into the hallway. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later though."

"Good luck on the test!" Blaine called after him even though they both knew Ryder was going to be too distracted to get anything other than a D on it.

**X X X **

"I don't understand." Will mentioned as he shook his head and tried his best to concentrate on the girl in front of him. It was hard to focus though when she kept speaking about some girl he didn't even know. "Who's Katie?"

Marley opened her mouth to explain further why she was so frustrated but before she could mutter one syllable, someone burst through the doors of the office clearly in a panic. "Mr. Schue! I lost my notebook!"

Looking the boy up and down, Marley realized he had grown an inch or two since the last time she had seen him. His hair was still shaggy but it might have grown a few inches and he was sporting his usual lightly colored sweatshirt. She bit her lip and stood up, hoping that he'd remember her so this wouldn't be embarrassing.

"Marley!" The boy called before wrapping his arms around Marley's petite frame. She smiled against him before pulling away and high fiving him.

Will sighed and put his hand to his forehead. "What have you lost, Sam?"

"I didn't lose it. Someone stole it." Sam muttered as he looked over Marley quickly, his smile suddenly turning into a frown. "She did it."

"Sam, no I-." Marley started softly as she sat back down and waited for Mr. Schuester to kick Sam out of his office so they could finish their discussion. Really, she didn't plan on telling him anything he didn't already know. She just needed to say enough so that it wasn't being bottled up inside her and Kitty was going through a lot as it was. Marley didn't need to make that any worse.

"Why don't you ask Emma if she's seen it?" Will suggested, subtly trying to shoo the boy. Although he wasn't entirely sure what Marley had been talking about, it was nice to see her willing to communicate with somebody rather than keeping everything to herself like she once had.

Seeing no chance of Sam leaving that easily, Marley glanced down at her phone to check the time. It was already 8 o'clock and she still had tons of homework to do for tomorrow. Quickly, she stood up and grabbed her purse from next to the chair she was sitting in. "I have to go. I have tons of homework."

"Likely story." Sam quipped as he crossed his arms and glared in her direction. With a smile she turned and nodded slightly at Mr. Schuester. "Just give me my notebook, dog."

"Dog?" She asked, slightly amused but mostly curious. It had been a while since anyone had really insulted her, besides that witch who called herself Katie. Marley narrowed her eyes and bit her tongue at the thought of the demon girl. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and walked past Sam into the hallway. "It was nice seeing you again Sam. I hope you find your notebook."

Sam smiled and shook his head. "I don't even have a notebook."

Upon hearing Mr. Schuester groan, Marley giggled and walked down the hallway towards where her brother was waiting in the lobby. He wasn't sure why but he felt like as her brother, it was his duty to stay and make sure everything went well. After what happened on Friday, he was more than certain that Ryder Lynn kid couldn't be trusted.

"You ready?" He asked as he stood up and put the magazine in his hand down on the table. Seeing his sister smile and nod her head, he pulled her into a side hug and led her out to the car. "You want to stop at McDonald's?"

Marley sighed. "Mark, I have homework."

Mark frowned and nodded his head. "And we can't make a quick stop? I'm really hungry, Marls."

"No, I don't think I'm going to have enough time." She answered with a small smile on her face.

"It's a good thing I'm driving then." He responded easily as he shot her a wicked smile. Upon hearing her sigh, she muttered, "C'mon, I'll be super quick."

"Fine but just know I'm not happy with you."

Even though she was trying her best not to smile, she couldn't help but laugh slightly when he muttered sarcastically, "Oh no; I'm crushed."

**X X X **

**Yay. So as promised, here's chapter 9 right on time. :) It might be a few weeks before the next update but I'm going to try my hardest to keep on at least a 10 day schedule. **

**Thanks to: **

**Iheartart13: **Ha! If I had to define my life in one word it'd be procrastination. :P No. I'm not going to college, just boarding school. Thanks so much for reviewing and being so nice all the time! I love you! (And your tumblr)

**LittleMusicalOwl: **Thanks so much! I loved Mr. Schue in Lean on me too! He was one of my faves. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint, which it has a very good chance of doing because I kinda pulled an RIB and destroyed Ryley feels. Sorry. :) Thanks for reviewing!

**TeaAndGlee: **I loved Mr. Schuester in the first season of glee but then ever since then I've just been annoyed with his presence, especially in season 4. So I figured I'd make it so I at least liked him in my own stories lol. :) Haha Ryder's my favorite :) Thanks for reviewing and for the encouragement. :)

**Guest: **Aw you don't have to apologize! I love when you review but I don't want you to ever feel like you absolutely _have_ to. You know? I'd tell you exactly why Marley was crying now but then I'd unfortunately have to kill you. You know how it is, right? ;) I do agree though. Katie is a bitch. Haha. :) Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Reflections of Twilight: **Don't apologize! You don't have to review every chapter. I know you have a life haha. I used to have one of those too. :) I hope the stuff you had going on wasn't stressful or painful or anything. And if it was, I hope you feel better. Haha. I love that you're procrastinating wishing me luck on procrastination. :) Thanks so very much for the comment!

**Peninc: **Super long comment, I LOVE IT! Aren't Tuesday nights so amazing!? Haha jk. Well I mean, unless they are for you. I prefer Thursdays because of Glee and all. :) There is definitely going to be a lot more Blyder so you should be happy with that. I want Jarley gone and done with, at least for a few episodes. They're too 'perfect'. You know? Like neither of them ever get mad at the other and that's so unrealistic. It's High school after all. Idk… I know he avoided the question which is super suspicious but I don't want to believe it and then be punched in the face by one of them denying it. (I do think they are though just because of the _way_ he avoided the question.) AWWWW I HOPE I FIND THE RYDER TO MY MARLEY! OMG! YOU MADE ME SMILE FOR HOURS AT THIS! Haha. :) I hope you find yours too!

**You guys should be very proud of me for getting this up on time. I expect a bunch of cookies to be mailed to my house. Haha. As always, thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. You guys are amazing! **

**I hope I see you next Tuesday! **

**~ Kaylie **


	10. Chapter 10

"Ryder!?" The girl snapped, bringing his attention away from staring longingly at the back of Marley's head. She was hanging out with some girl he had seen on a few occasions but he couldn't place a name to her face. Quickly, he turned towards the girl with his eyes narrowed. "Are you even listening?"

It was hard to say what he saw in her previously. Sure, they grew up together and he knew pretty much everything about her in a non-creepy type of way, but that's all it had ever really been between them. She was safe. She was the obvious choice. Her Cheerios uniform that stuck to her body in order to show off her curves was the play to make. He wears his varsity jacket while she wears her uniform and BAM! Suddenly they're a match made in heaven.

But as he looked her up and down, he couldn't help but frown. She wasn't nearly as attractive as people made her out to be. Sure, she had the blonde hair and the blue eyes but that was only meets the eye. Maybe if he never went to Rehab that's all that would have mattered to him. But after meeting Marley, he began to realize that there's more than meets the eyes and Katie was _far_ from attractive on the inside.

Marley, though. Marley was beautiful inside and out. She could make even the saddest person smile with her charm and he supposed that's why he liked her so much. She cared whether someone was happy or not and she may have been the first person he'd ever met that did.

"How am I supposed to blackmail you if you won't even fucking pay attention!?" The girl hissed, slapping his face gently. After blinking a few times to regain his composure, he growled at her. She had some nerve. "I don't want you ever talking to that fleabag again, you hear me?"

With an eye roll, Ryder shut his locker and positioned his books so they were at his side. The only fleabag Ryder could see was the one standing directly in front of him but not talking to Marley wasn't going to be that hard. She had no interest in him anymore. "Fine."

"You bet your ass that's fi-." Ryder scrunched his eyebrows slightly when the girl stopped talking. It wasn't really in Katie's nature to keep her mouth shut. Turning, he saw she had stopped walking long enough to take in his words. "Fine? That's it? You're fine with it?"

"She doesn't want to talk to me anyway." He grumbled as he turned to walk in the direction of history class. There was still about five minutes before classes started for the day but he didn't want to even be considered late. Football was far too important to let that happen again. Plus, he was sure Bieste would kick his ass up and down the field if he was late again.

He had to bite his tongue as he walked back his brunette ex-girlfriend. As he passed her, he wished he had held his breath because _damn_ did she smell good. The girl she was talking to looked him up and down while frowning. He wondered what story Marley had told her about him to make her look at him like that.

"You said no to that fine piece of meat?" The girl asked under her breath. Marley quickly looked up from her locker just in time to see none other than Ryder Lynn turning the corner. Rolling her eyes, she refocused her attention on her folder that didn't have the weekend's homework sitting in it like she thought it did. "Girl, Unique thinks you made a big mistake."

"Yeah? Well then obviously you don't know Ryder." Sticking her tongue out, she cringed as the first bell rang signaling the day was going to start soon. "Listen, I'll see you later, alright?"

As Marley slowly walked towards the history class she'd share with Ryder, she wondered how one girl had managed to ruin the life she was so close to liking. Sure, Ryder was an amazing guy and any girl had the right to be jealous but what Katie was doing was extreme. She was obsessed with a guy who Marley was pretty sure couldn't stand her, or at least he looked that way whenever she was with him. In the end did it really matter who knew about the rehab? Would anyone really care if their star quarterback, the one everyone wanted to be, or be with, had a rough life?

Of course it mattered. Life wasn't like it was in the rehab. Once she left that place, her problems weren't just trying to convince Mr. Schuester that she was ready. It was about convincing the entire world around her that she was more than what happened to her.

Katie didn't seem to think she was worth much. In fact, Marley was sure Katie believed she was dirt, which was ultimately fine with Marley. At least the brunette knew that she was nice, that she _tried_ to be friendly to everyone who may talk to her. She wasn't as skinny, no. She wasn't as wealthy; God knows that was the understatement of the century. But through all of that, taking everything else into account, Marley was a better person and pretty soon, once their high school career ended, Katie would realize that sad reality.

As soon as she opened the door to class and stepped inside the bell rang and the kids inside the classroom silenced as Mrs. Holliday began her homework checks. Marley walked slowly by Ryder, who seemed more intrigued by the doodles on his paper than in her. Maybe he moved on? She knew it was for the best, but she felt a pang of jealousy that the notebook was able to hold his attention more than she could.

As she sat down and pulled a slip of notebook paper out of her binder to hand to Mrs. Halliday, Katie turned and tapped her on the shoulder. "You're doing a lot better than I thought you would."

"You didn't give me much of a choice." Marley muttered trying her hardest to ignore the blonde beside her. If only Unique was in her history class, then maybe this wouldn't be as hard to endure.

"He's miserable you know." Katie mentioned nonchalantly, flicking her hair to the side and smiling at the boy who just walked in. Marley locked eyes with the boy, who was holding some sort of yellow pass in his hand. Marley imagined it was a late pass but she quickly averted his eyes so she didn't have to look at him for too long.

Slowly, Marley turned to face Katie again only to find the girl smiling at someone else. Was Marley that much of a leper-figure in this school that the other girl had to pretend she wasn't even talking to her? "You like seeing him miserable?"

It wasn't a lie though. Ryder was ignoring everyone. She noticed several jocks go up to him and he just seemed to shoo them away. Rolling her eyes, she turned back towards the blonde who was now smirking devilishly at her. "If he's miserable, he's going to need someone, especially since the one girl he ever loved broke his heart several times _this week_. And you know what? That person he turns to is going to be me so you don't have to worry about that, sweetheart."

Marley scoffed and shook her head. The blood inside her boiled as she was sure her face turned bright red. This bitch had nerve some nerve fucking with everyone's life the way she was. Before she could respond, however, which may have been for the best since Marley didn't know what she was planning to say anyway, Mrs. Halliday started the lesson.

Ryder sat with his head in his hands, unable to pay attention to anything his teacher was talking about. Sure, he had difficulty being attentive this early in the morning on most days but normally he could pick up the gist of the lesson. Today, he was positive he didn't retain one piece of useless information. As the bell rang, he slowly stood up and watched as Marley quickly left the room. For a few seconds, he smiled before he remembered that she wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

"Hey. You feeling alright?" Katie asked and Ryder turned to give her a perplexed look. Here was the girl who had just tried to blackmail him asking if he was ok. How did she even know he wasn't? "Look, I know you, Ry and as much as I hate the _dirtball_, I don't like seeing you hurt."

Ryder rolled his eyes as he picked up his books. "You were just trying to hurt me so I'd shut up if I were you."

With a sigh, he opened the classroom door and was disappointed to find the blonde hadn't taken the hint because instead of leaving him alone she was quickly trying to catch up to him. "Ry, will you just listen to me for one second?"

Typing the combination to his lock in, he sighed once more. "I don't _want_ to listen to you. You don't even know Marley and all you do is complain about her."

"Don't you think I have the right to?" Katie pressed as she leaned up against the locker next to his. She saw his eyes flash with curiosity before he bit his lip and rolled his eyes once more. "I may be a bitch but at least I can admit it. She came along and you don't even talk to me anymore."

"I don't _talk_ to you because you're vindictive and I don't like being blackmailed." He muttered as he slammed the door to his locker shut.

Katie was many things but she wasn't the kind of person to just give up. She perservered whether anyone liked it or not. Maybe her tactics were a little rough around the edges but at least she got things done; at least she always got what she wanted. But as she watched Ryder walk in the wrong direction- why was he walking that way?

"Math is the other way." Katie mentioned in an attempt to be helpful. He turned and rolled his eyes once more, an action she didn't appreciate much.

"Yeah but I have to go ask Mike why he was late."

As she watched him continue to walk the wrong way, she questioned her motives. When she had Ryder, it was true her popularity rose slightly, but there were other guys that could do that same thing. When she was with him, sure he was fun but a lot of what he believed in, she didn't. She wasn't sure why, if all this was true, she was still trying to get him back.

What was the point?

Marley.

**X X X **

**So this one is short and there are two reasons to that. The first is that I'm still trying to get the hang of this study thing. Haha. I've never really had to study before because I'm good at retaining information but these are harder classes. Haha. And TWO: there's a really big hint in this chapter as to why it's so easy for Katie to mess with Marley. I don't know if you caught it, but it pretty much has the power to change the direction you think this story is going in… **

**If you guess it, I'll give you a cookie. :) **

**Anyway, Thanks to:: **

**Peninc: **Well, when you leave the longest review there's no way I can give you anything but the longest reply. :) I'm going to try my VERY hardest not to be like RIB in that sense. The only thing I'll do is destroy your Ryley feels. See, I get too excited about cliffhangers so I write the next chapter right after I finish uploading the previous one. Haha. I mean I love jake and I actually loved Jarley at first… If Ryder hadn't have come along I think I'd still like Jarley. I just think that compared to Blake and Melissa, Jacob and her have no chemistry. But that's just comparatively. I love that you commented twice on my story just because it was Blake's birthday! :) That honestly made my day and reminded me I had to update soon anyway.

**Reflections of Twilight: **good! I'm glad it wasn't stressful! (If it ever does become stressful you can always talk to me through PMs or something.) Thanks for reviewing and I'm procrastinating chem homework right now so :)

**Savanna. Ramirez. 35: **I really hope that shows up this time. Haha. I always try to type in your full username and fanfiction always makes it so it comes out '.35' which is really annoying. So I'm sorry if this once again doesn't work. Of course I featured Sam. He's only my favorite character. Haha. :) Thanks for reviewing!

**CamrynLynn19: **Sorry. I've been breaking a lot of people's feels recently. I apologize haha. Sometimes I even kill my own feels but then I go read your story and everything gets 1000x better. :) Haha thanks for reviewing and I'm so sorry for breaking your feels! I'm going to try to fix them in the next couple of chapters but idk. ;)

**LittleMusicalOwl: **I love Blaine! He's such a good friend and although I hated him in 'Lean on Me' he's growing on me now. Lol. Now I just hate Katie, but that's alright. She doesn't even exist on the show anyway. :P Stupid Unique. (I'm still upset about that. Can you tell?) Thank you so very much for being so sweet. Your comments always make me smile because you're just so nice.

**Guest 1: **I want it to be gradual too. I want Ryder to get with someone who he doesn't have to wait for, like Kitty. Plus, I want Marley to suffer for all the shit she put my baby through. Haha. Thanks so much for reviewing and being so nice! I loved that Ryder talked to Mr. Schuester! He's so sweet. :) Thanks again!

**Guest 2: **hahaha. I love Mark! He's my favorite new character which isn't that much of a competition because the only other two new characters are Unique and Katie. Katie sucks. Haha. Thank you so much for being so sweet and wishing me luck! You're so nice and I love you! Thanks again for reviewing and I hope this chapter didn't upset you too much.

**So it's not Tuesday… obviously and I wasn't going to post this **_**until**_** Tuesday but I figure I'll just post this now since it's done and then I'm going to try to post on next Tuesday (the 10****th****). After that, hopefully I'll be able to post every Tuesday. I'm not sure though so don't hold me to that schedule. **

**If you have any questions you can either Tumblr me or look on my profile on FF. I have update days and crap somewhere in my bio. I'm not sure. **

**Anyway, thanks to all my readers and favoriters and followers. You guys are just as equally amazing as the awesome people mentioned above. (Although, it'd be pretty spectacular if you reviewed too)**

**Love you guys!**

**Kaylie **

**Tumblr: **ohsoblake


	11. Chapter 11

**This is for my anon on Tumblr (I don't think you want people to know who you are because the last time you messaged me was from anon). This chapter is dedicated for her and I hope you guys all say nice, supportive things to her in the comments so she can read them and smile from wherever she is. That'd be really nice of you guys!**

**X X X**

Marley woke up that night sweaty, panting and feeling more alone than ever. The dreams were back, if you could even call them those. The only thing she could hear was her rough breathing and her frantic heartbeat. It'd been months since the last time a memory like that had haunted her dreams. Why were the back so suddenly?

Of course she knew the answer, as well as two other people who attended McKinley but neither of them had her trust. The only person who attended her school who did have her trust, she had pushed away as a part of keeping the secret hidden from the rest of the world. She made a deal and she was set on keeping it.

But still, as she looked around her room at all of the shadows the moonlight was leaving on her walls, she reached towards her phone and highlighted a familiar number. Without hesitating, even slightly, she pressed the green button.

It took four rings for him to pick up. "Hello?" His voice was hoarse as if he had just woken up. Of course he had _just_ woken up. It was three in the morning. Suddenly, Marley felt sick to her stomach. Why was she doing this to him? "Are you there?"

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she ran a few fingers through her tangled hair. Biting her lip, she looked around the room. Maybe something on her walls would give her an excuse. Maybe if she just lied, said it was the wrong number, he'd hang up without a second through. He'd go back to sleep and she wouldn't have to worry about keeping him up anymore.

But she didn't want to hang up. Hearing his voice calmed her down. It made her feel safe. "Is everything ok?"

He didn't sound as tired as he did when he first picked up the phone. Concern masked his sleepiness and she felt guilty all over again. Licking her lips, she laid back down with her phone still pressed to her ear. To lie or not to lie. That was the question and her answer was simple: _lie._ "N-no."

Rolling her eyes at her answer, she wiped her face, surprised at the amount of tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." She whispered, looking down at her comforter. She looked at her clock which now read _3:36_, hearing him sigh as she comprehended the time. "But I… can you come over?"

Ryder sat up in his bed slowly as he pressed the end button on his phone. Was this a joke? Was she just playing him like she seemed to be doing since the moment they saw each other on the track? She sounded upset, though. She sounded broken. And although every fiber of his mind was telling him to lay back down and go to sleep, his heart was pushing him to move, to act.

No matter what this meant to Marley, whether it was just because she needed him for the night or whether she needed him for life, he was going to be there for her because back in rehab, she had been there for him. At that moment, it didn't matter how many times she had broken his heart, he was always going to be there for her.

So he quietly locked the door behind him and grabbed his bike. The only thing on his mind was making sure Marley was alright. The only part of the trip where he worried about his _own_ safety was when he finally reached her house. What if Mark found him trying to sneak in?

What if Mark wanted to kill him and Marley was helping her brother the whole time?

Quickly he sent her a text message asking what to do and she said to climb up towards the balcony.

Now Ryder had never been very keen on the idea of heights. Even as a kid, he'd been scared to climb the jungle gym. His teachers were even warning him all the time that what went up had to come right back down. He didn't like that idea. Knowing that no matter what, no matter how hard you work, there's always a chance you'll crash and burn never settled with him. He liked to believe that if you work hard enough, your success will stay with you.

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed hold of a tree branch and pulled himself up easily. Thank God for Coach Bieste's weight lifting regimen she set up for the boys on the team. Slowly, but surely, he made his way up the tree and over the railing of her balcony.

He stopped for a second to breathe. He didn't fall. So far so good.

The door to her bedroom opened before he could knock and he was upset to see her tearstained face standing in front of him. "What took you so long? You got here ten minutes ago."

Shrugging his shoulders, he smirked casually. "I don't like climbing things."

She nodded her head and retreated into the shadows of her bedroom. He figured since she left the door open, he was welcome to follow her. As he shut the door behind him, he heard her whimper. "Marls, what's wrong?"

"Do you think there was ever a chance we'd get better?" She asked, ignoring his question. Currently, she was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall opposite her. It was easier to concentrate on her words if she wasn't looking at him. "Do you think we ever truly had a chance?"

"Marley, I-."

"Or were we just fed lies; given false hope that maybe one day we'd be normal?" With a dry chuckle, she turned towards him, fresh tears threatening to escape as she saw him frowning in her direction. "We're not _normal_, Ry. We're always going to be tainted, broken, and never good enough."

Taking a few steps forward, he sat next to her on the bed. It squeaked under the pressure of holding up two people. "We're different, sure. We've been through more than a lot of people, but that's what makes us special."

She let out a small sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to be different. I want to be like Katie."

"Why?" She laughed at how repulsed he sounded by her statement and she was repulsed to. The more she thought about it, however, the more she realized how true it really was. Katie didn't have to work for anything. Her parents were rich and she was beautiful, a combination that could make any guy fall in love with her, even Ryder whether he realized it or not.

It was silent for a while as they both thought over what'd been said. "I'm glad you're not like Katie."

"She's pretty and normal."

Ryder thought for a second. "Do you remember that day you told me what happened to you? It was in the staircase at the hospital?" She nodded her head as the memory entered her mind. She remembered it all too well. "Well once Sam came in and interrupted, I promised myself that I'd always protect you and make sure you felt… loved, even if what I'm protecting you from is your own thoughts. Marls, Katie is a bitch. She's mean and vindictive. You don't want to be like her and I don't want to see you become like her, ok?"

"But-."

"No." He interrupted with a shake of his head. He moved his shoulder slightly so she was no longer leaning on it and was instead staring into his eyes. "I don't know what's going on with us right now, but through everything that's happened, I can honestly tell you that you are _perfect_ just how you are."

Marley couldn't help but smile small at his words. Finally, after a few seconds, she whispered, "I promise."

With a sigh of relief, Ryder leaned back so he was laying on the bed with his legs dangling off the edge. "Oh and by the way, she might be _pretty_ but you're _beautiful." _

It seemed like time slowed down for both of them at that moment. Marley glanced down at his lips, which looked as kissable as ever. Just as she was about to give in to herself, she bit her lip and released a breath, turning to look in the opposite direction. An upset Ryder ran his hand through his hair and she sighed once more when she realized what this may have been doing to him.

"I think you should go now." She whispered, afraid that if she said it too loud the world around her may come crashing down.

He stiffened. "Why are you doing this to me? Did I hurt you or something? Did I say something that made you feel like crap?"

"Ryder, I just-."

She was going to explain to the best of her ability what was going on, why she was doing what she was doing, but he interrupted her before she had a chance. "No, because I'm confused. You push me away and then you bring me back in only to push me away again? Look, whatever I did to you, I'm sorry but please stop fucking with my head."

"It's not like that." Although he was right, she felt the need to defend herself. After all, she wasn't the bitch in his scenario. The real bitch, the one playing all the games, was safely tucked away in her bed somewhere across town, probably sleeping with a smile on her face. "I don't have a choice."

"Why not?"

It was an honest question, one she would have asked had she been in his shoes at this moment, but it irritated her. She couldn't answer it and she knew he _knew_ that. "I don't want you to get hurt, Ry."

He let out a sarcastic chuckle as he stood up from the bed. It creaked again, the sound seemingly amplified in the dead of the night. "It's a little too late for that, now isn't it?"

"Ryder, please just listen to me." She pleaded as she stood up in front of him, blocking his only path to her bedroom door.

As the words left her mouth she saw his attitude shift from confused to irritated. "What do you think I've been _trying_ to do!? All I ever do is listen to you but you never _say_ anything."

She regretted getting in his way in the first place. Realizing that she should have let him walk out in the first place, she shifted her weight and stepped out of his way, looking down shamefully. This wasn't fair. What she was doing to him wasn't fair and maybe a part of her knew that. Everyone always talks about the thrill of the chase as if it's some irritating quality all boys have, but Marley liked the feeling that came with _being chased._ A part of her wondered how far she could push him, what limits he'd cross for her.

Another part of her, though, didn't want to have to test him. She wanted to trust him like she did before, trust that no matter what he'd be there for her.

The largest part of her, the one with the most power, was the one being influenced by Katie. She didn't want Katie to destroy the reputation she knew he was trying to rebuild. After the trial, she got several texts from him saying people were being weird about everything, that everyone was judging him. Going back down that path wasn't something he wanted to do, and she knew that for a fact. But she wanted him to. She wanted him to be willing to throw everything on the line for her.

And she knew he would. She knew he'd risk the stares and the glances from the teenagers who had nothing better to do than make anyone's life miserable. As much as she wanted for that to happen, for them to face their foes head on but together, she didn't want him to _have _to. So she wasn't going to tell him. Katie's evil plot was going to be kept a secret.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry, Ryder but I- I just-." She looked up at him and saw his brown eyes staring back into hers. Glancing down, she noticed his lips were slightly parted as if he were about to say something, probably some negative towards her. But she didn't care. They still looked appealing to her anyway, and she imagined they always would.

Ryder watched her glance down and instantly knew what she wanted, but he couldn't tell if she wanted to want it, so he hesitated. It'd be the perfect chance. He was confused by everything, and he could tell she was confused herself, but this was one thing he was sure of. So, quickly and without giving it much more thought, he stepped forward and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her head closer to his. Their lips touched and instantly they were reminded of what they left behind in rehab. The laughing. The crying. The random dates and the silly fights. The late nights they'd spend watching movies. Simple touches and quick glances. It all came back to them.

It may have been lost somewhere in translation but it was real. It had always been real. Ryder knew it and he also knew that although she'd try to deny it, Marley knew it too.

Surprising both herself and the boy in front of her, Marley didn't back up. Instead she craned her neck as she was looking up at him. Her chin was almost touching his chest. "It's complicated."

"I've got time." Ryder smirked, glancing at the clock. It was a little after 4 now and neither of them were going to get much more sleep anyway.

Biting her lip, Marley looked down. To tell him or not to tell him….

**X X X **

**I'm not sure if that's a cliffhanger or not. I can't tell. Maybe it's because I know where this story is going now and I'm a little excited. It's about time I predict how many chapters this story is going to have left and I'm just going to assume there's going to be 28 or so chapters and then that'll be it for this 'series', I guess you could call it. **

**Anyway, thanks to::**

_XXEllieJellyxx, guest 1, TeaAndGlee, Peninc, LittleMusicalOwl, Savannah. Ramirez. 35, camypoo, ChuckNutz, and Reflections of Twilight_

**I am going to write responses to reviews on both chapter 10 and 11 at the bottom of chapter 12. I don't have time right now and really didn't plan on updating until after the weekend but I promised my anon buddy. **

**SO PLEASE COMMENT and tell me how you're liking Carry On and if you liked the chapter and why. AND please at the end or at the beginning of your review write a nice little sentence or two showing support for my anon. That'd be so nice.**

**And anon: I'll send you what everyone says as they say it on Tumblr, since I know who you are now. :) That sounds creepy but I'm ok with that. **

**I love you guys,**

**Have a great rest of the week!**

**Kaylie **


	12. Chapter 12

**To clarify, my anon didn't help my write the last chapter. She was/is going through a hard time and asked me to update so I did. Haha. **** Anyway, on with the chapter…. **

**X X X **

After hearing Marley talk, Ryder was infuriated, but he soon got over it. Now that he knew what was going on, what was making Marley push him away, he could find a way around it. They didn't have to have their life stories shared all over school by Katie. They'd beat the system; they'd beat her at her own game.

"So all we have to do is-." Ryder started excitedly before he was interrupted by the bedroom door opening. He had no time to hide, no time to come up with an excuse as to why he may have been there. Instead, all he had time to do before Mark crossed the room with his fist curled, was grab a pillow from Marley's bed and block his face.

"Mark! Mark! Stop!" Marley yelped, jumping in the way as an angry Mark grumbled something under his breath. It didn't take long for her brother to back up slightly, his breathing still deep. "It's not- It's not what you think."

"Then why are you here?" Mark asked calmly, a tone that scared Ryder beyond belief. It'd be easy for Ryder to fight back. Mark wasn't very big compared to Ryder in a physical sense and Ryder's confidence heightened at that realization. But there was still another factor that Ryder was trying to ignore. He may have had bigger muscles, but Mark would always mean more to Marley than he did.

Licking his lips, Ryder removed the pillow from the front of his face and gently threw it onto the bed. He trusted that Marley wasn't going to let Mark try to hit him. "I uh… well she called me and asked me to come over."

It felt wrong to him- selling Marley out like that- but in the long run he knew it was worth it. If Ryder didn't have Mark's trust then that was that. His and Marley's friendship, or whatever it was, would be terminated. "Gee, thanks." She muttered as she turned to face her brother's anger.

After sighing and taking a moment to breathe, and possibly figure out her reasoning, Marley continued. "The dreams are back."

"Wait, _what?_" Ryder asked before Mark could mutter a word. That part of the story had been left out the first time she told it. What else had she left out?

"And you called him?" Mark asked, ignoring Ryder's clear confusion. Mark had been a teenager once before too and if he knew something about teenage boys it's that once their girlfriend's family is around, they suddenly become Oscar-winning performers. "Marley, my room is right next door."

Marley looked between Ryder and Mark before settling her focus on Mark's question. His was easier to answer than Ryder's was. "You don't understand what it's like, Mark. Ryder does."

Ryder allowed an unwarranted smile to cross his face. _He_ was the only one who could understand where Marley was coming from and that single thing made him want to jump for joy. But as quickly as the smile appeared on his face, it vanished. This situation wasn't something to take pride in.

"So you called-." Pause. "Ryder." The name slipped off his tongue as if it had been the single worst word the man could have said. Ryder should have been insulted, and perhaps he truly was, but he shrugged his shoulders and allowed himself to relax. At least when he was attacking him with words, he wasn't using his fists or something. "because he is such an expert in psychology, right?"

It was a sarcastic question that Marley couldn't help but roll her eyes at. "I was not about to call Mr. Schuester at 3 in the morning."

Mark raised his eyebrows and then turned to Ryder, his expression unreadable which worried Ryder more than anything. "So my sister, here, calls you up at 3 in the morning and you answer and come all the way across town just because she tells you about a dream?"

Ryder shifts his weight and nods his head slowly, as he tries to fully process the question. "Well, actually, I didn't know about the dream…."

"Why were you awake at 3 in the morning?" Mark challenges, both teens confused with the direction he's going in.

"I… uh, I wasn't." Ryder answers, again slowly as if carefully considering his words. "I was sleeping."

"So you weren't out with your _girlfriend?_ Out doing some normal teenage activities, like canoodling when my sister called and you didn't think that since she was vulnerable you could stick something of yours where it doesn't belong?"

Marley suddenly blushed and placed her hand to her forehead. She was clearly in a dream. This couldn't actually be happening. In a few seconds she'd wake up by Mark _really_ walking through her door, or maybe she'd wake up from the embarrassment this situation was bringing her.

Ryder blushed and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably before shaking his head. "I don't have a girlfriend, Mark."

"Don't call me Mark." Mark muttered simply, narrowing his eyes in the boy's direction. "You don't know me. Call me, sir."

Marley and Ryder both chuckled quickly before they realized Mark had been serious. "You're joking right?"

"No, Marley. I am not _joking." _Mark took a few steps back towards the door, where his fiancé was waiting shaking her head. She smiled at both of the teenagers before pulling him out of the room and into the hallway. Before she shut the door, Mark mumbled, "You guys have school in an hour but I'll call and tell them you both of strep or something. You both look like absolute shit."

"Mark!" Marley groaned as the door shut behind them.

Still, even through the closed wood, they could both hear Mark shout, "Especially you Ryder!"

Ryder shook his head and sat back down on the bed. "He hates me." He mumbled as Marley sat down next to her. Suddenly, they realized how exhausted they were and wanted nothing more than to curl up on the bed and fall asleep. Together. But they both also knew that couldn't happen; not yet, not until they figured out what was going on between them. "The dreams are back?"

Marley sighed and rested her head on his shoulder easily. It felt natural, like that's just where her head belonged. "I guess so."

"Why?"

She sighed once more and lifted her head, turning so she could face him completely. "I have no idea."

It was a simple movement. All she did was scratch the skin above her right eyelid and blink a few times. People did that all the time. But it was that simple movement that made him doubt everything she'd told him so far this morning. "Marley, why are you lying to me?"

A blush crept to her face as she narrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

He sighed and shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. It was a good thing Mark was going to call them out sick. "Nevermind, I guess I'm just seeing things that aren't there."

But those lies _were_ there and they both knew that. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge it, though, so they remained silent and laid down so their legs were dangling off the side of the bed. Although they were exhausted, neither of them wanted to close their eyes. Ryder was scared that he'd wake up and this would all just be a dream. Marley, though, Marley was afraid her nightmares would never go away. She'd be stuck with them forever.

Because if there was one thing she knew for sure at this point, without talking about the reason they were back, she'd have no way to get them out of her head. But she didn't want to talk about it again.

And there was no way she was going to.

Not again. Not ever.

**X X X **

**This is short, I know, BUT I had good reason for it. I just thought it was more dramatic to leave it here. So who likes Mark? I personally love him but that may just be me. So who thinks they know why Marley's dreams are back? **

**Anyone? Anyone? **

**Special Thanks to (And I'm going to split this up by chapter and then into a both…)**

**Chapter 10:**

**xxEllieJellyxx: **I'm so amazed that you could get through nine chapters in one day. That is just so crazy to me that'd you'd want to do that. So thank you so much! :) You're the best! (I can't answer your question yet… sorry, but it will be answered eventually) ;)

**guest1: **(I'm not sure if you commented on both chapters because I have no way of telling which guest is which guest so if you commented on both, then you're going to get two replies. Lucky you. Haha. Just kidding. I hope her plan backfires too! No person who is as mean as Katie is should get the satisfaction of winning. That just isn't fair. But who knows at this point? I surely don't. Thanks for commenting! :)

**Reflections Of Twilight: **I haven't read 'The Fault in Our Stars' yet but I heard it's really good and sad. I actually think I started to read it but I never finished. I'm trying to read every Jodi Picoult book right now and then I'll move on to John Green because I think he's awesome. :) Thanks for commenting. You're amazing.

**Chapter 11**

**Yarirzaulivares: **I'm sorry if I didn't spell that right. Thank you so much! That's so sweet of you to say!

**Guest1: **Thanks so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying this story! That's so nice to hear. It breaks my heart that Ryley is together either… but I hope this chapter fixed some of the pain…. Maybe? Just a little? Haha thanks so much for reviewing and reading. You're so amazing and I love you.

**Ryleyjennoist: **hahahahah Ryder is veeeerrrrryyyyy sexy when he's aggravated and it makes watching him angry a little more bearable. I mean, of course, I still want to hug him and smack RIB for hurting him but at least he's hot. Haha. I'm so honored that you would call this and 'Lean on Me' your favorite stories on fanfiction. That means so much to me. Thanks for reading and reviewing! You're so awesome.

**Both: **

**TeaAndGlee: **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. You're so awesome. It's ok, apparently my hint was really subtle and nobody got it anyway. I'm actually really proud of myself for that Haha. Well thanks for reading and commenting. You're truly amazing. And now onto your chapter 11 review… I'm so glad you liked chapter 11! Haha I liked the lost in translation line too… I was listening to 'All Too Well' by Taylor Swift so that's where that came from. Haha. Thanks again for reviewing!

**Peninc: **WOAH NO WAY! YOU'RE SO AWESOME! (I realize now that you aren't going to know what that was too because you wrote the original comment on chapter 10 about 3 weeks ago but whatever.) Seriously though, like how many people have accidentally took pictures of me and how embarrassing do I look? These are the questions I need answers to! It's ridiculous! Haha you shouldn't be afraid to guess just because hou think you may get it wrong. That's silly. Don't be silly. :) "Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game" – Hillary Duff. I loved that movie. Anyway, thanks so much for commenting on chapter 10 AND chapter 11. That's awesome. You're awesome. Ok so now chapter 11 review… I LOVE SUBTLE GLIMPSES OF HOPE! THEY'RE THE BEST! I would have loved to play dodgeball with Jennoist. I think that would have been awesome and I'm so jealous too! Thanks again! And the anon didn't help me write it… she just asked me to because she was going through a hard time. :)

**LittleMusicalOwl: **I really wanted the catfish to be Jake, actually because I think Alex Newell is awesome but now I can't stand seeing Unique because of what she did. I just think Jake had more motive, you know? After the whole Valentine's kiss that still makes me squeal when I think about… I'm glad you liked that Ryder helped her through her insecurities but don't be fooled… they're not totally gone now either (foreshadow alert… uh oh) RYLEY IN A WEEK! (well actually probably not Ryley… but we still get to see Glee in a week) Thanks for commenting on both chapters!

**Savanna. Ramirez. 35: **Thanks so much! I'll never abandon this story! No matter how long between updates, I'll finish it up. I promise. Hmm… will they kiss more? I don't know… that's a good question. I wish I could answer that… hmmmm….. Thanks for commenting!

**Camypoo: **Haha I hate Katie with a passion but I love her too. We have a love/hate relationship. Thank you so much for being so nice! I think you're stories are so awesome and hearing you compliment mine just makes me feel so special. Thanks so much for being so nice and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

**ChuckNutz: **Hey girl, hey. Hahaha. Sorry, I just really like saying that now. I don't even know why. I'm so glad you're feeling better! Stop apologizing for not reading! That's silly! I'm glad you're going to put an effort into not getting your face smashed in. I think that's a good plan, a really good plan. I think we should all make an attempt to avoid getting our faces smashed in. We could start a movement and you can be our spokesperson. I can see it now. We're going to change the world one face at a time. What a legacy to leave behind. I don't even want to respond to your chapter 11 review because I think this is a beautiful place to end my response. Beautiful, isn't it?

**Thanks to everyone who is sticking with this story even though I suck at updating it on time. I think next chapter will be up next Wednesday which means…. We're moving update days to Wednesday instead of Tuesday! **

**Remember guys: We're going to start a movement (thanks to ChuckNutz) dedicated to making an attempt not to smash our faces in. We're going to change the world and it will be fabulous!**

**Haha thanks again. I love you. Please Review!**

**~ Kaylie ~ **

**PS: This is like the shortest chapter so far but it has the most words because of how long my responses are. You should be proud of me. Actually, you guys should yell at me because I'm sitting her typing random stuff because I don't want to do chemistry. Oh well… I tried. **

**:) **


	13. Chapter 13

She straightened her shirt and fluffed her hair until it matched that of perfection. If she had one thing, it was the look and from what Disney had taught her, that's all that really mattered. In her opinion, had Cinderella not been beautiful, Prince Charming wouldn't have stayed more than a few minutes. Had Rapunzel been ugly, Flynn Ryder wouldn't have cared enough to sacrifice himself to give her a better life.

And it's true. Katie didn't have a Prince Charming or a Flynn Rider begging for her attention, but she had Ryder Lynn and that was possibly the next greatest thing.

The only problem with Ryder was that he was currently preoccupied with another girl, whom Katie thought he could do better than. Clearly, there was something wrong with his head if he believed otherwise.

Quickly, Katie looked at her reflection once more. Once she was satisfied with her glossy lips and the amount of cleavage showing, she shut her locker and looked down the hallway. Her normal posse of wannabes was standing down the hallway flirting with one of the football players. Rolling her eyes, she glanced towards the office where another girl who looked extremely well put together was standing with the principle.

Her blonde hair hung about two inches past her shoulders. Katie was instantly intrigued. It was about time another girl with potential walked through the doors of McKinley. Fluffing her hair quickly, Katie began approaching the girl.

"I love those shoes." Katie complimented upon reaching her destination. The other girl glanced down and smirked before looking the girl up and down with a snide smile. Katie frowned and fought the urge to roll her eyes. It seemed that new girls came to McKinley thinking they could rule the school. It was Katie's job to make sure they realized that she was the one and only queen and it would always remain that way. "So what brings you to Lima?"

The other girl looked down at her feet and brushed some hair behind her ear. "I needed a change of scenery mostly."

"And you came to Lima?" Katie never understood what made people want to move here. The town was small and boring. All Katie wanted to do was leave, but there were so many things that would end up holding her back. First of all, the majority of kids who went to McKinley ended up going to Lima County Community College so if she stayed, she'd still be popular. Also, Coach Sue offered her a job to help run the Cheerios next year and of course Katie couldn't resist. "That seems hard to believe."

The blonde chuckled slightly and nodded her head. "Tell me about it."

Before Katie could muster a clever response, the bell rang and she was instantly reminded of her plan to get closer to Ryder. She'd need to reach out to someone less fortunate than her to prove to him that she had a caring bone in her body and the girl standing in front of her was the perfect opportunity. "I'm Katie by the way."

The other girl's eyes opened wider before another snide smile took over her features. "Interesting…" she muttered before nodding her head and looking down at her schedule briefly. "I'm Kitty. Kitty Wilde."

X X X

"Truth." She replied easily to his question. After having to run around in almost freezing temperatures in her bikini and having to lick her cats ear, it seemed like the obvious choice. Biting her lip, she watched as a devilish smirk graced his features as if he had been waiting for her to answer that way. "I uh… I mean dare."

He looked over at her and smiled a little before nodding his head. "Alright but-."

"No, truth. I'm sticking with truth." She interrupted, growing more irritated as his smile brightened once again. "Stop taking pride in making me nervous."

Ryder laughed slightly as he waited for a question to pop into his head. There was one he'd been dying to ask since he saw her in McKinley for the first time but he couldn't ask it. What if she just turned him down or decided he was too stuck in the past to be friends with her? He couldn't handle the rejection again. "Who did you miss the most from LRC?"

Leaving Lima Rehab Center was probably one of the most confusing times for her. The people she had met had grown to be her second family and even if she and Ryder weren't talking, the place held many happy memories for them. At the same time, though, it was her chance to prove to the world that she could defeat the dark thoughts; that she could rise above the terrible hand she'd been dealt and live the life she deserved to.

"Probably Kitty." She responded after a few minutes. The answer he wanted was obvious but she wasn't sure if she was ready to give it to him. She wasn't even sure if it would have been the truth. Sure, she had missed him but when it came down to it he had left her and that just wasn't the same thing. Still, she couldn't help but feel bad when he frowned for a few seconds.

Quickly, he wiped the frown from his face and allowed a smile to slide in its place. "Well, I'm insulted."

He was joking. He was making light of the situation and she should have been grateful, but something about the question, something about the situation made her blood boil. "Yeah, well _that_ wasn't my fault." She spat out of spite and she took pride in the fact that his smile dropped again.

Ryder searched his thoughts and tried to figure out if he had done or said something that had given her any reason to be mad. "Marley, I wasn't trying to-."

"I know." She sighed as she stood from her bed. "I know you weren't trying to start something and I know that you're sorry and that you wish you hadn't have been such a _dick_ but that's the thing. We're just wishing!"

"Marley-." He whispered in an attempt to get her to calm down.

"No, you see we keep _wishing_ for things. You've been wishing that your dad will love you like you want him to but that's not going to happen. Kitty wishes she could come to Lima but her parents would never move. I keep wishing that people would stop taking advantage of me but that doesn't-." She stopped ranting and took a deep breath.

Ryder stood up and approached her quickly. _"What _did you just say?"

The door slammed open before Marley could muster a response and she thanked whoever was listening for the interruption. Mark walked into the room holding a pizza box. He smiled at them for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes. "What are you guys doing?"

Ryder took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair as he backed away from Marley slightly. "We were just- uh playing Truth or Dare."

"He made me lick Mittens." Marley mumbled trying her best to sound amused. She was sure it sounded more like she was being held at gunpoint and had to act like it was exciting. Sensing Mark's uneasiness she put a smile on her face and reached for the pizza box. "Is this for me?"

Ryder glanced at her and couldn't help but cringe at how easy it seemed to be for her to hide everything. What he couldn't seem to understand was what she was hiding from everyone.

"What kind of sick fu-." Mark started before he felt Marley slap his arm lightly. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he turned to Ryder. "You have to wash the cat now."

Rolling her eyes, she gently pushed her brother out of the room and shut the door behind her. Turning, she held out the pizza box with a smile. "You hungry?"

"What happened Marley?" He asked gently, reaching out to take the box from her hands. She let go easily and watched as he set it on the bed without taking his eyes off hers once. It was intimidating but she kept her composure. "Who took advantage of you?"

"I already told you." She mentioned stubbornly which earned her a frown from the boy she never wanted to see upset. "Honest."

Ryder sighed and shook his head before he sat back down on the bed. Without muttering another word, he grabbed a piece of pizza and started eating it. "For the record, I don't care what my dad thinks of me."

She sat down next to him in silence. A few minutes passed before she muttered, "Yes you do, Ry."

And until Mark came back into the room to inform them dinner had been cooked, they sat in silence. Ryder didn't want to argue. He didn't want to say something he'd regret because forcing her to tell the truth would only end in her kicking him out of her life. That was the last thing he wanted but he also didn't want to give her the pleasure of his giving up, so he stayed. He sat in silence and it killed her.

X X X

"So let me get this straight," Kitty started as she stared at the two girls with a look of disbelief on her face. "You torture this girl just for the hell of it?"

Katie sighed and put her hand to her forehead briefly before the other girl, whose name was obviously not important enough for the blonde to remember, spoke up. "Oh honey, it's never just for the hell of it."

Kitty narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips slightly. What was there to say in this situation? Marley was her best friend and defending her was in order, but Kitty had managed to get on the inside an effort that she was sure took lots of other girls months of sucking up and running errands. "It sure seems to me that-."

"She _stole_ my boyfriend!" Katie shouted in order to end the girl's speech before it even started. Talking about that fleabag brought out the worst in Katie and she'd be damned if she had to sit in her own car and justify herself to some self-righteous know it all.

Kitty smirked subtly before turning to stare out the window. "So this is about revenge?"

Upon seeing the smirk on Kitty's face, Katie smiled, knowing that the girl was now on her side. "Yes."

"Well you know what they say: Revenge is a dish best served _cold_." And for the first time in a while, Kitty felt important.

X X X

"So, Ryder," Mark started as he put some more spaghetti into his mouth. He didn't necessarily want Ryder in her sister's life anymore but the fact that he was just twiddling their spaghetti with his fork was a little unnerving. Upon seeing Ryder's eyes glance up to meet his, he asked "when do you plan on leaving?"

"_Mark!"_ Both Jill and Marley scolded but Mark's gaze remained on Ryder's. There was something about the way the boy's face had changed dramatically upon hearing the question that made Mark's stomach flip in guilt.

"I… I can go if you want." Ryder offered with a small, insincere smile.

Marley shook her head. "You don't have to go, Ry. _Mark _is just being a douche again."

"_Marley!" _Jill scolded followed by another sigh. Mark chuckled slightly before he pulled the fork to his mouth again and inhaled some more of his food. Marley glanced at Ryder to see Ryder staring blankly at his food. It was her fault. She was the reason he was upset.

"Nah, man, I'm just joking." Mark mentioned as he stuffed some garlic bread into his mouth. "I can drive you back though."

Jill glanced down at her watch before she got up from the table and grabbed the remote. "Does anyone mind if I put the news on. There's supposed to be a story on-."

"Go for it." Mark muttered as he turned towards his sister. "So do you have a lot of homework tonight?"

"How should I know? I stayed ho-." Marley replied with an attitude, or she would have had she not been interrupted. Mark had been up her ass all day and it was starting to piss her off to no end.

"Can you maybe turn it up?" Ryder asked, interrupting Marley and simultaneously causing everyone to look towards the television. On it, was a picture of his dad in his orange jumpsuit.

Jill quickly turned up the volume before setting the remote back on the table. Pat Meeran's, the anchorman, was in the middle of a sentence but it was clear what he was saying. "… released on grounds of good behavior…"

There was more he had to say about the situation, no doubt, but Ryder was standing from the table, distracting everyone from the TV. Marley's eyes shut painfully to prevent having to see him clearly distraught by the news. What did it mean? Was his mom going to let him back in the house?

"I'm just going to…" Ryder started but he never finished his sentence because by the time he got the first four words out of his mouth, he was already out the door.

X X X

**So there's chapter 13. I'm terribly, awfully, incredibly sorry that it's been so long. You guys have been absolutely awesome about reading and reviewing but I've been TERRIBLE as updating. I'm going to try my best to get the next chapter up either this week or next week. However, I'm really going to take a little break from updating to write ahead. That way, if I have loads of things to do I will already have a chapter written. You know what I mean? It really depends on how much work I'm going to have this week whether or not I have time to write a few chapters ahead. **

**I'm sure that didn't make sense. I'll let you all know on Tumblr if you ask. Haha. **

**Thanks SOO much:**

**TeaAndGlee: **Thank you sooooo much for being so sweet and thanks for the comment in general! And I'm so sorry this chapter took so long. (13 is my favorite/lucky number too!) :)

**Guest 1: **I just… I hate Unique for what she did. I don't even want to talk about her because these past 3 episodes have featured a lot of Rynique background moments and I can't deal with having to watch that. I just can't. I'll be so mad if RIB decides to make that a thing. Yeah… the Katie situation is only going to get more complicated over the next few chapters.

**Jennoist-OTP: **Dude, I have absolutely no idea how you manage living in France while studying AND updating your story. You're obviously super talented and magical. Thanks so much for the comment. You are so sweet as was your comment. Honestly, your comment made my day. Thanks SO much.

**Camypoo: **I feel like I told you this, but your username is 100% adorable and I love it. Seriously, your stories are amazing and they're so cute and I love them with all my heart. I'm so happy that I'm your most favorite writer and I apologize that this took so freaking long to be updated. I've just been so busy. AHH You make me so happy! You're so sweet and I love you.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Yeah… this chapter is a little short too. Sorry. Haha. Thanks so much for commenting and sorry for taking so long. :) I really do hope Marley stops lying to him. I don't think he can handle it which means I'll have to break his heart… again and _I _won't be able to handle that. I hope your homework has cleared up and that your mom isn't pissed at you anymore! Thanks again for commenting.

**Savanna. Ramirez. 35: **thank you so much for your comment and I apologize that I didn't update quick enough. I've just honestly been so swamped. I'm definitely going to try extra hard to get the next chapter up within the next two weeks. Thanks again for commenting!

**xxEllieJellyxx: **Thank you so much for saying that! That's so sweet and you're so sweet and I absolutely love you! Plus, I miss talking to you. Haha Mark is my favorite.

**Peninc: **SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! Oh my gosh. Thanks for commenting and sticking out the incredibly long wait. I really am so sorry. I really need to work on time management haha. YES! Old viewer Disney day would be such a good idea. I agree! Let's write to Disney and make it happen! :) Haha. Nice guess ;) Thank you so much for the sweetness and hopefully I'll update within the next two weeks or so.

**Ellie/Guest: **I'm definitely going to be writing some more cute Ryley moments but I don't really write smut so much. I think sex is awkward haha. But I'll definitely write tons more lovey dovey moments. Sorry.

**Iheartart13: **YAY! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK! I MISSED YOU! Haha well I'm glad I could bring your Ryley feels back to life. That's awesome :) I LOVE THE SCENARIO YOU JUST CREATED IN MY HEAD! RYLEY DEFINITELY NEEDS TO GROW OLD TOGETHER AND CUDDLE AND DIE TOGETHER LIKE IN THE NOTEBOOK! (Which is actually really fitting considering Blake actually likes that movie). You should definitely trust me with Ryley, dude. Haha. My OTP is Ryley, therefore they will be together eventually. I promise. :) I LOVE YOU TOO! Thanks for commenting.

**GUYS! YOU GOT ME TO 100+ COMMENTS EVEN THOUGH I DON'T DESERVE IT WHICH IS TOTALLY AWESOME AND I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! SO SO SO MUCH! THANK YOU!**

**If I haven't updated in over two weeks please harass me in any way possible. Use tumblr, PMs on FF, anything. I don't want to go another month without updating. **

**TUMBLR: **ohsoblake

Love, Kaylie


	14. Chapter 14

The door shut and Marley instantly came to her senses. Ryder was hurt. Ryder needed her. Suddenly, every hesitation she'd had about letting him back in didn't matter anymore. Quickly she stood up and starting walking towards the front door.

"Marley!" Mark called and she could hear his footsteps approaching her. She didn't want to hear him tell her she couldn't go after him. She didn't want to anything except Ryder's voice. "Marley, wait!"

Marley turned around upon reaching the door with her eyes narrowed. "You just had to be a smartass, didn't you?! He may have hurt me but that doesn't mean _he_ deserves to be hurting too."

"It's dark outside. I don't want you going out. Maybe tomorrow you can-." Mark tried to reason but Marley was having none of it. In fact, everything he was saying was going in one ear and out the other. She didn't care _what_ he had to say. Not right now.

"God, you don't get it, do you?" She exclaimed as she ran a hand through her hair. Mark sighed and motioned for Jill to head back into the dining room. "Ryder- he just… I can't let him walk home alone."

Mark shut his eyes but opened them upon hearing the door open once more. Quickly, he reached out and pulled on Marley's arm. "I'll drive him back home, ok? Just- just stay here. Help Jill clean up."

She knew Mark had good intentions but Marley wanted to make Ryder better. _She_ wanted to be the one to make him smile again, not Mark. But still, Mark driving him back home was better than nothing so she nodded her head slowly and walked back into the house. "Just-."

"I know." He nodded as he grabbed his car keys from the side table.

How had he gotten himself into _this? _

Ryder was wondering the same thing. He could still remember the day he decided to testify against his dad. It was Marley's anger that really made him want to in the first place. He wanted to be an example for her, something she could be proud of. He figured if he testified, it'd make her happy. And it did. But he never expected to have to leave LRC because he did it.

And he certainly never thought his dad would be released only after a year. Good behavior or not, he had still killed someone and then hid it from the law.

"Hey!" Ryder heard as a car pulled up slowly alongside of him. He didn't look over though, afraid Marley would see him this distraught. He had told her he didn't care what his dad thought and even if he truly thought that was the truth at the time, he didn't want to show her that he hadn't moved on yet; that he wasn't as strong as she thought he was. "Look, man. If you don't get in the car, my sister is going to kill me."

Ryder looked in the opposite direction of the car and wiped his face. Then, he turned towards where Mark's voice was coming from and sighed. It was only Mark, which mean Marley was still at the house. Did she not care about him anymore? Is that why she stayed back? Or was there another reason? Ryder wasn't sure why he was so disappointed when he didn't see her considering he had just been praying she wasn't in the car. Pushing the thoughts aside with a sigh, he opened the car door and climbed in, being careful to buckle his seatbelt to show Mark he was responsible.

"So…." Mark began after a few minutes but Ryder interrupted him.

"You don't have to pretend you care. I know you don't." He mumbled, his head resting pathetically against the window. Mark couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. Sure, he still hated him and didn't trust him, but nobody deserves what that kid went through.

"I was just going to ask you where you lived." He tried to joke, but Ryder didn't really get it, or at least he was making no effort to try to acknowledge Mark's words. Sighing, Mark pulled over and stopped the car.

"What are you-?" Ryder started as he lifted his head from the window and turned with his eyebrows scrunched. "I was just going to tell you where to turn and all. I wasn't ignoring y-."

"Look, I'm not going to pretend I know what you're going through." Ryder frowned again and rested his head on the window once more. He'd gotten this speech from several people and was tired of hearing it. "Now, you hurt my sister and I think you're scum for it and no matter what happens with your… situation… I'm never going to let you forget it. You're going through hell, but everyone goes through hell. So don't expect me to act like I like you because your life is falling apart."

Ryder rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smirk when Mark turned away and started driving again. "Thanks."

"For what?" Sighing, Mark turned towards Ryder, surprised to see the guy smiling.

Ryder lifted his head and turned towards the driver's seat. "For not treating me differently."

Mark nodded before turning back towards the road. He followed Ryder's directions until he was parked outside one of the nicest houses he'd ever seen. Maybe he should reconsider disliking the kid and start encouraging him to marry his sister. He'd get some really awesome Christmas presents if he did.

"Thanks for the ride." Ryder mumbled as he stared out the window a little longer than he wanted to. He wasn't sure why but he couldn't will himself to open the door. Surely, Mark was getting annoyed but Ryder's hands weren't moving. He was terrified he'd find his dad in the living room with his mom.

Mark sighed and reached out to pat the boy on the shoulder. "If worse comes to worse, call Marley and I'll come pick you up. You can stay the night again if you have to."

Ryder smiled halfheartedly before he opened the door. "What happened to treating me like the shit I am?"

"Sometimes, people do bad things like break my sister's heart." Mark started pointedly, growing angry as he reminded himself of the days of Marley crying he'd witnessed. "It doesn't mean they're bad people."

Nodding his head, Ryder got out of the car and thanked Mark once more. It surprised him but as he saw Mark's car round the corner, he didn't feel safe. He should have felt this way _in _Mark's presence considering Mark had been pretty blunt about his hatred of him. But he didn't. Mark being there was a way out and he missed it.

Now he had to face what was behind his own front door head on and he wasn't ready for it. He was sure he never would be.

X X X

"I thought you said that if you came back you'd be-." Marley started to say before she was instantly shushed by her blonde friend.

Kitty rolled her eyes and covered the other girl's mouth with her hand. "Do you _want _someone to hear me talking to you? Use that brain of yours."

Marley mimicked her friend's eye roll before she cocked her head to the side. "I just don't want this to turn into World War 3." The moment Marley saw Kitty walk through the doors of McKinley her smile brightened. Finally she'd have a friend. Sure, Unique was her friend but she never really had time to hang out after school like Marley wanted to. But the moment Marley opened her mouth, Kitty pushed her quickly into the nearest bathroom and told her a 'brilliant' plan. "Look, I have nothing against Katie and I don't want to start anything, especially after what happened last night."

Kitty nodded her head. "What _did_ happen last night? Did he tell you?"

"He won't answer any of my calls."

She wasn't sure why Ryder was ignoring her now. After weeks of trying to get her to open up to him again, the moment she plans on it, he disappears. Given the situation kind of sucks for him and he had a right to go a-wall, but still she'd expected him to have called back at least once.

"Well that really sucks." The other girl mumbled and Marley couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Leave it to Kitty to completely disregard anybody else's terrible situation. "I have to go talk to Katie before first period. I'll stop by tonight, alright? And maybe we can go over to McBieber's house."

Without another word, Kitty left the bathroom making Marley sigh. She could already tell this plan of Kitty's was going to blow up into a million pieces and Marley would be the one left lying on the ground. Quickly, she took her cell out of her pocket and dialed his number again, not surprised when she heard his answering machine.

Upon hearing the bell ring, she left the bathroom and walked towards history. There was still chance he'd be there but honestly, she doubted it so she took her time walking. At this point, being late wasn't even on her mind. All she could think about was how Ryder was feeling.

Likewise, Ryder couldn't think straight at all. His dad had been released from prison, no doubt holding a grudge against the son he tried to blame an accidental murder on. But did that mean Ryder was scared of him? Not in a physical sense. He was fairly certain that after Coach Bieste's tedious football schedule, he could handle his dad's aggression if he had to. The only thing he couldn't handle was the words that were surely going to come out of his mouth when he saw Ryder again.

Not to mention Blaine who was probably having a panic attack as Ryder sat in the locker room.

Marley kept calling and he wasn't entirely sure why. He knew she still cared about him in a friendship kind of way but last he checked, she seemed to feel closer to Blaine than she did to him. So why wasn't she calling Blaine nonstop? Or maybe she was.

Groaning, Ryder threw his head back and regretted it almost immediately. "Stupid wall…" He muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Is someone in here?" He heard a familiar voice ask and he almost stood up to try to look like he wasn't affected by the news. But the effort that would require made him change his mind. Who cares if she saw him like this? "Ryder, what's wrong?"

He narrowed his eyes in disbelief before shaking his head. "Leave me alone, Katie."

"I thought we had a deal?" She mentioned, crossing her arms. His eyes widened before he relaxed his features once more. Clearly, she was just trying to read him. She had absolutely no way of knowing that he and Marley had hung out. As if sensing his apprehension, she muttered, "Neither of you were in school yesterday."

Ryder licked his lips as he once again rested his head against the wall behind him. "Look, I'm not really in the mood to make another deal with Satan so if you wouldn't mind leaving, that'd be fantastic."

Sighing, Katie moved to sit on the bench across from him. Although he wasn't too pleased to see her making herself comfortable, he was happy she wasn't trying to sit next to him. "There used to be a time when you told me everything."

He chuckled and shook his head. "There used to be a time when I thought you were a decent human being."

"That's not fair, Ryder." She protested, fully prepared to back it up and make herself into a victim, but he was on his feet within seconds of the words leaving her mouth.

"Not fair?!" He screamed, not caring if Bieste was only a few feet away in her office. She had said he could stay in the locker room as long as he needed to, which was pretty convenient considering that's what he was planning on doing anyway. "You ruined my life! Don't you get that!?"

Two doors opened at once. Bieste entered through one of them, concerned about who exactly Ryder was talking to. The other door was pushed open by a girl he never thought he'd see again. Bieste was the first to speak. "What is going on in here?"

"I just came in to see if he wanted to talk to someone about what happened." Katie murmured, putting her hands up in defense. Ryder glanced towards Bieste to see if she was buying anything the girl was saying. Sadly, she was looking at him like he was overreacting.

Chuckling, he shook his head. "More like you came in here to see if I was talking to Marley, which I haven't today by the way."

Katie rolled her eyes before mumbling, "Today", her tone sarcastic. Before Ryder even had the chance to roll his eyes the other girl in the room was speaking.

"Are you ok though?" The girl asked and Ryder turned towards her, still a little confused. Last he heard, Kitty had told Marley there was absolutely no way she'd ever come back to Ohio. Before he could ask why she was here, she was speaking once more. This time her voice was shaky as if she was nervous about something. "I mean, I know I've never formally met you but I saw the news last night and I-."

That was the last straw. Ryder was officially going insane. "_What?_ But Kitty-?"

Her smile brightened and she looked towards Katie. "Have you been talking about me to him?"

"I uh- no I haven't." Katie mentioned before turned back towards Ryder. If he knew her name already then obviously there was something going on. Was Kitty just trying to be friends with Katie so she could have Ryder to herself? "Ryder, how do you know Kitty?"

Kitty shook her head and cut Ryder off again. "I just moved here Katie. Don't be ridiculous."

Ryder's head was spinning. Between the three ladies in the boy's locker room, he was going insane. He couldn't focus- couldn't breathe. _Wait_ he thought immediately upon this realization. _Breathe, Ryder._ Upon taking a breath, he was shocked to hear the words "I can't take this anymore!" leave his mouth. Within seconds, he was out the door, crashing into the hallway.

He needed air. He needed space. He needed answers. He needed _Marley_.

X X X

**Yay! Look at me go. I'd write more but I'm strung out on sugar and caffeine so if I start talking I literally won't shut up. Honestly. Have a lovely weekend and I hope you guys are doing fantastically. I love you all to pieces. Oh but you guys should totally come talk to me on Twitter too!**

**Thanks to: **

**Camypoo: **Sooorrrryyyy for killing you. Thanks so much for honestly being the sweetest human ever. Oh my gosh. I'm glad that you're happy Kitty is back. I am too. She's amazing. Hopefully she'll stay that way :) Honestly, your comment made me smile for like ten minutes and my roommate now thinks I'm insane haha but that's ok because literally, it made my day and I love you even more now. Wow, that was a run-on sentence. Ok, well thanks so much for being so sweet and commenting. That's amazing. You're amazing. And thank you for liking my tumblr URL. :)

**LittleMusicalOwl: **ME TOO! Literally, while Tina was having her prom crisis, all I could focus on was Rydr in the background. Blaine was proposing but I was focused on Ryder. Literally, my whole world seems to revolve around Blake. It's ridiculous lol. And I just want Ryley to be canon. That's all I want. AHH Yay! I'm happy Kitty is one of your favorites. That's amazing. I like Kitty and Artie a lot actually. My mom hates them, though beause she doesn't like Kitty and Artie is her favorite but I think they're cute together. Thanks so much for being so sweet (as always) :)

**TeaAndGlee: **I'm so happy Kitty is at McKinley too! I love her. Although, I'm nervous she may transfer to the dark side too. Thanks for commenting as always. I love you so much and I've missed talking to you so much! :D

**Savannah. Ramirez. 35: **Thanks so much for understanding. Everything is just so hectic right now. :) thanks so much! I'm so happy you liked the last chapter! :) I hope you like this one too.

**Reflections of Twilight: **Haha same though. If someone dared me to I'd totally lick my cat. No questions. Haha. I kinda like Ryder's dad. He's amazing when it comes to getting Ryley together….. hopefully anyway. I haven't read the Divergent series but I heard they were amazing. Isn't there a movie? I'm pretty sure there's a movie unless I'm an idiot thinking about something entirely different, which is actually highly possible. Yay! Thank you! You really should send me weekly reminders though. Lol. That'd be amazing. Thanks SOOO much for commenting and I love you

**Guest: **Aw well thank you! :) I love Kitty. I'm so happy she's back. I love her. I already said that I know but I'm typing this after eating a bunch of powdered donuts and drinking some starbucks so I'm kind of hyper. Anyway, yeah I'm actually pretty happy his dad is out of prison but that's for reasons you'll find out later :) THANKS FOR COMMENTING I LOVE YOU!

**Tumblr: ohsoblake**

**Twitter: bemyryder :)**

**Come talk to me on Twitter and Tumblr**


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